Learning to Live
by Lear's Daughter
Summary: Buffy Summers has recently been pulled out of Heaven and SG-1 has recently lost Daniel Jackson. Buffy needs a vacation from her life and SG-1 needs another team member. The President has a solution...AU seasons 6 of both shows.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Stargate.

**Prologue**

"Buffy!" Dawn hollered. "Call for you! Sounds like some old guy!"

Buffy pulled her head from the sink full of cold water, feeling the liquid drip from her chin onto her shirt as she stared at herself in the mirror, not reaching for the towel she had set aside to dry herself. God, she looked awful. Her cheeks were hollow and her eyes were sunken into her face. Also, she smelled like burger grease. And that was after the two showers she'd taken since finishing her shift at the Doublemeat Palace last night.

"Buffy!" Dawn shrieked again. "Phone!"

Buffy blinked, shaking herself. She grabbed the towel. "I'm coming," she said, but her voice cracked and only a whisper came out. Clearing her throat, she shouted, "I'm coming!"

She trudged down the stairs to where her little sister was holding the phone and rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm here," Buffy said.

"Finally," Dawn huffed. "I'm gonna be late for school now."

Buffy knew she should be bothered by Dawn's attitude, but couldn't quite build up the energy to care. "Go get ready," was all she said, taking the handset. She waited until Dawn tromped away to say, "Hello?"

"Ms. Summers? Is this Buffy Summers?" Dawn was right. It did sound like some old guy.

"Yes," she said cautiously, wondering who it could be. Child services, coming to assess her as a caregiver yet again? Someone from the bank where she owed quite a lot of money? It couldn't be the Doublemeat Palace—she had enough dirt on them, at least, to avoid being fired. Although this call could make her late, which could cause her trouble with her boss…"Who's this?"

"Henry Hayes," he said.

She snorted. "Uh-huh. Tell me another one."

There was a pause. "Ms. Summers, I'm sorry I haven't contacted you personally a lot earlier than this. The things you have done for this country—for this _world_—should not have gone so unaddressed."

Buffy hesitated. "Uh…_Mr_. _President_?"

"Yes?" He sounded amused.

"Just checking," she said hastily, leaning against the wall as she felt her cheeks flush. "Go on, Henr—er, sir. Please."

Another pause. "Ms. Summers—"

"Call me Buffy," she interrupted.

"Buffy, then, I was only recently made aware of your existence, and of the events surrounding your…encounters…with the Initiative. Certain elements in our government had been keeping the whole incident under wraps. When I learned about you—about all you'd done. Well, can I just say, you have my wholehearted thanks."

Something warm ran down her cheek. She was surprised to realize that it was a tear. How long had it been since someone had thanked her for what she had done, for what she continued to do on a daily basis? Certainly not her friends. With them it was expected, just part of who she was. The martyr.

"That's—thank you, sir. Mr. President." Her voice was only slightly choked.

He chuckled. "Call me Hank, Buffy."

She was pretty sure she was supposed to call him Mr. President regardless of what he asked her to call him. She wasn't that sort of girl, though. "Right. Hank." Was she sitting down? She checked. Yup, sitting down. "Can I ask, not that I don't appreciate it, but why exactly are you calling? And, aren't there, like, security concerns or something about calling on an unsecure line?" See, Professor Walsh? She had learned something in her time with the Initiative.

"Your line is secure, Buffy," the President said, sounding surprised that she didn't know. "We had a team secure your home as well as those of your friends shortly after the Initiative fiasco, and it's been updated a few times since then.

I would have called earlier, but I was under the impression that you were dead. We only realized that you had been…resurrected…when your renewed IRS forms were flagged a few weeks ago. Since then, I've been trying to think of the best way to properly thank you for all you've done."

"Oh. Well, a phone call is definitely a good way to convey thanks. Maybe not as good as an in-person visit, or a trip on Air Force One, but—"

Hank coughed, cutting off her babble. "Buffy Summers. On behalf of the United States of America, as its president, I would like to thank you for your services to our country over the past seven years. To that effect, I would like to arrange a private ceremony to present to you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That is the highest medal that can be given to a civilian in this country."

Buffy tried to breathe through her nose and found it clogged. She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and blew. "Sir, that's—"

"I'm not done yet, Buffy," he said. She could hear the grin in his voice. There was a shuffling of papers from his end. "Now where was I? Oh, right. In addition, it will be my honor to award you the Medal of Honor—the highest medal that may be awarded to a member of our armed forces."

She frowned. "But I'm not in the—"

"_In addition_," he said, in a voice that would not be denied. "I need to apologize to you for our failure to pay your salary for the past seven years."

"Salar—"

"Somehow our accounting department failed to realize that you had been a member of the Initiative since you were fifteen, and therefore a member of our armed forces, eligible to receive a salary for your work. Therefore, beginning today, you will receive a weekly paycheck, in addition to the back pay that is owed to you, plus interest—which comes out to roughly two million dollars."

Buffy blinked. Two million dollars. Had he just promised to give her two million dollars? Plus start paying her for patrolling and averting apocalypses? Also…she had never been the best math student, but she was pretty sure that there was no way seven years of government salary, even plus interest, should come out to even one million dollars. Not that she was complaining. Oh no. In fact, she should probably say something. Now that he seemed to be done talking. Any minute now. Right. Talking.

"That's—incredibly generous. Sir. Hank. Incredibly. As in, I don't have words."

"I wish I could do more, but my hands are a little tied by certain factions in our government right now. As far as I'm concerned, we owe you a couple billion dollars."

"Well, uh, this is pretty good anyway. Thanks."

"No, thank you."

Buffy was tempted to say "thanks" again, but sensed that this might turn into an endless mutual appreciation cycle. A hesitant silence settled between them.

"Um, not to be rude—because now I'm, like, totally quitting my job, which is the best thing that's happened since James Spader—but was there another reason you called?"

"It's funny that you mentioned a job, actually. You see, Buffy—that is to say—have you ever met an alien?"

Her grip tightened on the phone as she remembered the alien who had tried to kill her mother, just before her mother had died of natural causes. "Yes. Once. It's called the queller, and it comes to kill crazy people."

"Um. Right. Well, not exactly where I was headed. You see, Buffy…have you ever heard of the stargate?"

She tilted her head to one side, slouching on the couch. "Nope. Can't say I have."

"Okay." She could hear him take a deep breath. His next words came out in a rush. "The stargate is a portal that takes people to other planets. We have one. In Colorado."

"Uh-huh," Buffy said slowly. Right. People were going to other planets from Colorado. It wasn't the craziest thing she'd ever heard.

"For a little over five years, we've been running missions through the stargate, exploring other planets, meeting aliens, fighting against the Goa'uld—well, I can't explain all the details very well. Let's just say that we've been fighting a secret war. Not entirely different from the secret war you've been fighting all this time."

"I…see. Why are you telling me all this?" She felt a rising tide of dread. She could think of a couple of reasons. None of them good.

"I have a proposal for you, Buffy." He seemed to know her pretty well, because before she could refuse outright, he said, "It's just that. A proposal. You're under no obligation to take me up on it, and nothing I've said thus far is contingent on your acceptance of it." She let out a breath of relief. The phrase "I have a proposal" was just a little bit ominous, but at least she had his assurance he wasn't about to take away all he'd just promised.

"The premiere team operating out of Colorado is called SG-1. They've saved the world nearly as many times as you have. One of their members, a Dr. Daniel Jackson, passed away two months ago from radiation poisoning in the line of duty. The team is not handling his loss well, and so far they've gone through eight possible replacements. I would like you to take his place."

"Sorry if I'm being a little dense, Hank, but…I don't know anything beyond basic field medicine. What good would I be in replacing a doctor?" Buffy asked.

He chuckled again. "Daniel Jackson wasn't that kind of a doctor. He studied archeology and languages. And I wouldn't be asking you to serve exactly the same function as Dr. Jackson—I would be asking you to offer whatever services you felt comfortable with. Fighting, tactics, even your sense of humor. It would help if you tried to pick up some languages as well, but—you would be a great asset just as you are, Buffy. I'm not asking you to change."

Okay, that was pretty flattering. She was feeling guilty now that she'd voted for the other guy when Hank was running for office. "Pick up some languages?" she said. "I think you're overestimating me a little."

"You can't fool me, Buffy," he chided lightly. "I've got the FBI _and_ CIA working for me, you know. I've seen your SAT scores. And your college transcripts. And your grades from before you moved to Sunnydale. Even the results from that IQ test you took when you were a kid. I have a feeling you've picked up more than a few things from Mr. Giles and your friend Willow, including some languages. You're not a dumb blonde."

Buffy bit her lip to hide her smile. It was really, really, really nice to be appreciated sometimes. "I guess you caught me, Hank," she said. "I'm not a genius or anything, though. Don't expect too much."

"I don't. Just whatever you've got to give. Please, Buffy. Think about it."

"I'll need a little time," she said uncertainly. "I mean, I've got a life here. Dawn, my friends…" Even as she spoke, she wondered whether her words were true. What kind of a life did she have in Sunnydale these days? Long days, longer nights, trying to avoid Spike's advances, missing Giles, trying to prove that she was strong by not bowing beneath the impossible weight of providing for Dawn and Willow and herself and saving the world on a regular basis.

"I understand. Think about it, then give me a call at this number to let me know." He rattled off a phone number and a series of authorization codes that would get her straight to his office. "Regardless of what you decide, I'll get the ball rolling on your recognition ceremony for the medals. And you should be getting a check later today with that back pay we discussed."

Buffy nodded, knowing he couldn't see it. The mention of that check brought another bright smile to her face. "I'll get back to you. Soon. And…thanks again. For everything."

"No," he said. "Thank _you._ Goodbye, Buffy. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Bye, Hank," she said, and listened to the click as he hung up.

She lasted maybe thirty seconds after that before she broke down sobbing, curling up on the couch with her legs to her chest, feeling as though her very soul were being torn apart. For the first time—the _first damn time_—since she'd been torn out of Heaven, she felt…happy. It was a truly amazing sensation. One she'd missed desperately.

Three hours later she called to accept his offer.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"I'm sorry, General. Could you repeat that? I could have sworn you just said that the newest member of my team was named 'Buffy.'"

General Hammond's eyes narrowed but Colonel Jack O'Neill could see the smile the General tried to hide behind his raised hand.

"You heard correctly, Jack," Hammond said, handing his second-in-command a slim file folder with the few details he'd been given about the new addition. "Buffy Summers. She's a civilian, but holds the honorary rank of captain despite her youth. She's the president's personal pick."

Jack didn't pick up the file, but instead pressed his pointer finger against it to drag the file around Hammond's polished desk in a spiral. "I see," he drawled in a tone that most generals would consider insolent. "And what skills, exactly, does Buffy Summers bring to the table?"

Hammond coughed. "I'm not entirely clear on that myself, son," he said. "According to President Hayes, Ms. Summers is an incredible fighter, a brilliant tactician, and—I'm quoting here—'the greatest hero the Earth has ever known.'" Hammond looked embarrassed by the overdone praise.

"Uh-huh," Jack said. He paused. "Did you tell him about the time when we blew up Apophis's mother ships as they were about to attack Earth? Because I think that earns us the 'greatest hero' title."

Hammond spread his palms, his expression making it clear that he agreed. "I have my orders, Colonel. My hands are tied. Certain people in the Pentagon are unimpressed by how long it's taking you to find a replacement for Dr. Jackson. For God's sake, Jack, you've gone through seven of the world's brightest already and no one's been good enough for you."

Jack's normally cheerful face was closed. "Daniel was irreplaceable," he said stonily.

Hammond closed his eyes. "I know, son," he said softly. There was a moment of silence, one of many tributes paid to the fallen archeologist. "Listen, Jack. We don't have a choice here. This comes directly from the president. He asked Ms. Summers to do this, and is paying for her relocation to Colorado Springs. She arrived in town a few days ago, from what I understand."

Jack swept the file under his arm, standing. "You do know that I'm going to boot her after one mission, don't you sir?" he said. "That is, if I still have command over SG-1." His brown eyes were challenging.

Hammond smiled. "Give her a chance, Jack. Maybe she'll surprise us all."

* * *

"Buffy? That's her name, sir?" Despite himself, Jack was amused by the astonishment in Major Samantha Carter's voice. She seemed to be choking on her jello.

"That's right, Carter. Buffy." Jack took a large bite out of his sandwich.

"Should you not call Buffy Summers by her surname, O'Neill?" Both Air Force officers looked at the last member of their team, Teal'c, who raised his eyebrow unconcernedly.

"Are you kidding, T?" Jack said. "And miss the opportunity to call her…'Buffy'?"

"Sir," Carter said, "maybe Teal'c is right. We don't want Buf—Summers to feel like we're laughing at her."

He blinked. "But we are laughing at her, Carter. Or maybe at her parents, for naming her that. The point is, we don't want her on our team, right? I mean, can you imagine someone named Buffy striking fear into the hearts of the Goa'uld?"

"I once knew a Jaffa whose name was Raz'garn," Teal'c interjected.

Jack and Carter stared at each other, both trying not to look at the empty space across from Jack where Daniel should be sitting. He would have been able to explain the joke. If joke it was.

After an uncomfortable pause, Teal'c explained, "It means, 'one who bathes under waterfalls and dances in the summer breeze.' Nevertheless, he was a fearsome warrior, and those who mocked him often regretted it swiftly."

Carter smiled. "I think what Teal'c is saying, sir, is…maybe we should give her a chance. When's she coming, anyway?"

"Today."

"Today?"

"Yes, Carter, today! I think they didn't want to give me a chance to find a way to scare her away."

"Er, what time is she coming, sir?"

"1200," Jack said. "Why?"

"Uh, you do know that it's 1230, right Colonel?" she answered, staring at the clock on the wall behind him.

He blinked in the slow, deliberate way that meant he was trying to appear dumb. "Really?" he asked, his eyes dancing with faint humor. "You don't say. Well, I guess I'd better go find her, huh?"

"That won't be necessary, Colonel," he heard from behind him.

Knowing he'd been caught, Jack turned to find Hammond standing behind him, his arms crossed and an annoyed expression on his round face.

"Miss Summers has been waiting in the briefing room for thirty minutes," Hammond said. "Are you trying to piss off the president, Jack?"

"The president?" Carter said. "You didn't mention that, sir."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well…Don't suppose you want to come greet our guest, do ya Carter? Teal'c?"

"I'd like to meet her," Carter said.

"As would I," Teal'c intoned. "I would like to see whether this Buffy Summers is as impressive as Raz'Garn."

Jack led the way to the briefing room, his two teammates close behind. He paused outside the door, preparing himself. He didn't know what to expect. Some sort of 7'2" wonder woman?

"Sir? What are we waiting for?" Carter said.

"Just…preparing," Jack said, turning the handle and opening the door.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw inside. Except maybe reading the file that Hammond had given him several hours ago, of course.

Buffy Summers was barely over five feet tall—about the same height as Jennifer Hailey—with shoulder-length blonde hair. She was dressed in stylish yet affordable clothing that was certainly not appropriate for a military installation like this one, and she was staring through the briefing room window at the stargate.

For a moment Jack allowed himself to appreciate the familiar view—the massive gray ring with its arcane symbols that had come to mean purpose and home for him after his own life had fallen to pieces. He cleared his throat. "It's something, isn't it?"

She didn't spin around, which meant that either she had already known they were there, or she was very good at controlling her reactions. Either were a good sign. Instead she turned slowly.

He heard Carter let out a gasp when they got a glimpse of her face. She was lovely, with a pixyish face, except that she was also gaunt, her blue-green eyes shadowed as if by some terrible pain. She also couldn't be more than 21 years old. Barely more than a kid.

She shrugged, tossing a glance at the stargate again. "I've seen more impressive things," she said.

He raised an eyebrow. "Just wait'll you walk through it," he said. "It's a doozy."

She smiled faintly. "I'm sure."

He hesitated, then walked forward and extended his hand. "Jack O'Neill," he said.

She shook his hand, her grip exactly as firm as his. "Buffy Summers," she replied. Her voice was tired.

"Oh, I know," he grinned. "Buffy." Her return glare said that she was unimpressed.

"I'm Major Samantha Carter," Carter said, walking around him to shake the girl's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Buffy said.

"And I am Teal'c," Teal'c said, nodding gravely. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Buffy Summers."

Buffy nodded in return, but she seemed distracted, her eyes going unerringly to his stomach. "You're an alien, right? One of those…gaffers?"

Jack snorted a laugh. Sam looked away to hide a smile.

"I am a Jaffa of Chulak," Teal'c replied. "Formerly First Prime to the false god Apophis."

"Right," Buffy said. "Jaffa. That's what I said. I'm, uh, Buffy Summers. Of Sunnydale, California. Former fry cook."

"Care to tell me why the president insisted you join SG-1, Buffy?" Jack said, taking a seat at the conference table and leaning back in his chair. "Not that we don't always need more…fry cooks."

Her lips quirked as she sat as well, Teal'c and Carter following suit. "I guess he just likes my work," she said. "Trust me, this whole thing came as a surprise to me too."

"I believe that Colonel O'Neill is trying to ascertain what skills you are bringing to this team, Buffy Summers," Teal'c said.

"Daniel was a linguist and diplomat," Carter added, trying not to sound doubtful and failing. "Are you…either of those things?"

Buffy frowned. "I speak pretty good French, and a smattering of Ancient Latin, Greek, Sumerian, and a couple of other esoteric languages. I've been studying Goa'uld for the past few days, but it's going to be a while before I have a grasp of it—I'm really not a linguist. As for diplomat? I don't think anyone's ever called me 'diplomat.' I think 'antagonist' was the word used."

Carter coughed, remembering those exact words being applied to Colonel O'Neill back when the Asgard had chosen him to represent Earth in the Asgard-Goa'uld treaty negotiations.

"If that's true, then what good are you to us?" Jack demanded. "The three of us are fighters ourselves, and it's not like we kept Daniel around for his military expertise. How exactly are you supposed to replace him?" There was veiled hostility in his eyes.

Her own eyes blazed to life and she stood abruptly, surprisingly intimidating for one of her stature. "Listen to me very carefully," she said in a low, deadly voice that shouldn't have been possible in one so young. "I'm not here to replace anyone. There's a hole left in your team with Dr. Jackson's death, and I'm here to try to fill that hole as best I can, with the skills that I have. I'm not Dr. Jackson, and I never will be. But I'm loyal, dedicated, experienced, incredibly strong, and really, really someone you'd like to have on your side. I'll prove that to you in the field, or on the sparring mat. Your choice. You don't want me here? Tough. Hank—the president—does want me here, so deal with it. You're not getting rid of me without giving me a fair chance."

A muscle leapt in Jack's jaw as he stared back at her, their eyes locked, neither willing to back down. Finally Carter broke the silence. "We'll be able to get a glimpse of your skills during your qualification tests," she said, trying to cut the tension.

Buffy shook her head, never looking away from Jack. "I'm not doing any tests," she said. "Dr. Frasier has been provided with all of my hospital records, but due to some prior experience I've had with the military, the president—and a Major Davis—agreed that I don't have to prove my qualifications. I guess you're just going to have to see how I fare on our first mission together."

Steepling his fingers, Jack looked away at last, not liking this one bit. Everyone at the SGC went through training. No exceptions. Yet somehow, this little girl was being tossed straight into the field in her first week there? He muttered, "I guess so. Buffy."

"Would you like us to show you around the base?" Carter offered. "I know it can be pretty intimidating at first."

Buffy shook her head, all of the intensity gone from her so completely that he wondered whether he'd just imagined it. "Thanks for the offer, Major, but I really need to finish unpacking some boxes in my house. I want to get it into some semblance of order, since we're going off-world tomorrow."

"Call me Sam," Carter said with a smile. Jack suspected that Carter was just glad that one of the replacements they'd be trying out was female. She didn't often complain about the gender inequality on the team, but he was sure she felt it.

"Well, in that case, we'll leave you to your unpacking," Jack said. "Tomorrow should be… interesting."

Buffy nodded faintly before returning her gaze to the stargate, pensive.

SG-1—the original SG-1—wandered out of the briefing room and to Carter's lab.

"What do you think, sir?" Carter said.

"I dunno. What do you think, Teal'c?"

"It is difficult to believe that one so small could be an effective weapon in battle," Teal'c said stoically. "However, she spoke with great poise."

"Well, I'm worried this is some sort of NID plot to bring SG-1 down," Jack said. "I mean, for crying out loud, she's probably the youngest person on this base. Younger than those kids we put through training exercises, that's for sure. Carter, I want you to check her out. Find anything you can."

Carter bit her lip. "Yes, sir." She paused, waiting for the men to leave, only to realize that they were going to stay. Shaking her head with a sigh, she turned to her computer. "This could take a while, sir," she pointed out.

"We'll wait," Jack said, picking up a piece of very expensive, complicated equipment and fiddling with it.

Teal'c raised his eyebrow.

Thirty minutes later Carter said, "I've got it, sir."

"All right," he said, dropping the yo-yo that she kept in her office just to amuse him. "Let's hear it."

"Okay. Buffy Anne Summers. Buffy's really her first name," she said, forestalling the question he was about to ask. "21 years old. She's the guardian to a younger sister, Dawn. Mother is deceased, father absent. Burned down her high school gym when she was fifteen, then moved from LA to Sunnydale. Her grades were pretty bad in high school, and it looks like she was a bit of a troublemaker. A couple of hospitalizations." She blinked. "Woah. Accused of homicide when she was 17, but the charges were dropped. Her high school then exploded at graduation, killing the mayor, principal, and nearly a quarter of the students. She went to UC Sunnydale, where her grades improved dramatically, until she dropped out to take care of her dying mother." Her typing increased in pace. "Woah," she said again.

"What?" Jack said.

"In her first year at college, Buffy got a top level security clearance. As high as yours, sir."

"For what?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, sir. It's classified." She frowned. "Huh. There's one more weird thing."

"Cut the suspense, Carter. What is it?"

"Well, according to these records, Buffy was dead."

"Dead? As in…heart stopped, brought back with CPR, dead?"

"No sir. Dead as in, buried, her will executed, dead. Then suddenly she reappears four months later and reacquires guardianship of her sister. That was just a few months ago."

"That's not possible," Jack said.

"Here IRS file has a note to explain the inconsistency. The note just says, 'Sunnydale.'"

"Have we not seen people come back from the dead many times?" Teal'c said.

"Yeah, but this is different," Jack said. "It's not like she'd have access to sarcophaguses…sarcophagi." His brow furrowed as he tried to figure out which was the correct word.

"I can't explain it, sir," Carter said helplessly. "That's what her records show. If we want to know more, I suggest that we ask her."

* * *

SG-1, plus its newest member, prepared to embark through the stargate to a planet labeled PX4-822 the next morning. Jack couldn't fault Buffy's timing; she'd arrived in the gate room twenty minutes early, tugging uncomfortably at her BDUs and hefting a P90 that looked nearly as large as she was.

"You okay there, kid?" Jack said, half-expecting her to tip over at the weight of her weapons and pack.

She frowned at him, which only made her look cute. "What? You think I need more weapons?" she asked. From what he could see, in addition to the P90 and a sidearm she was carrying at least six knives, as well as what looked like a sharpened stick. Who knew what was in her pack.

"I just don't want you to fall over walking up the ramp to the gate," he said. "It'd make us look bad."

She huffed. "Let's arm wrestle when we get back," she said. "Then we'll see whether you're gonna insult my strength."

He grinned. "You're on. Buffy."

"$20 on Buffy," Carter called as she entered the gate room with Teal'c at her heels.

"Carter!" Jack whined, betrayed.

"Sorry, sir," she said unrepentantly.

"Well, Teal'c?" Jack said, turning an expectant eye on his Jaffa friend.

"Yes, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked, his face blank.

"Aren't you gonna bet on me?"

"Such a bet would seem unwise, O'Neill," Teal'c said. "Having not seen Buffy Summers in action, I do not feel prepared to judge her strength. Additionally, it would disrupt the unity of our team to place bets against our new member."

"Thank you, Teal'c," Buffy said, smiling faintly at the Jaffa.

"You are welcome, Buffy Summers."

"SG-1, you have a go," Hammond announced from the control room. "Remember, this is a simple meet and greet."

"Chevron one encoded," Sergeant Walter Harriman announced as the gate began to spin.

Buffy watched the device with interest.

"Chevron seven—locked!" Harriman announced as the gate finished dialing, an enormous wave of bluish light exploding from the center before subsiding into what looked like a glowing, vertical pool of water.

"Ladies first," Jack said, gesturing for Buffy to lead the way.

She snorted, hiking her pack up her back and climbing the ramp, stepping through the gate without hesitation. Jack and Carter exchanged a glance, then went after her.

"Godspeed, SG-1," Hammond murmured.

* * *

Jack came out on the other side to find that the planet was full of…trees. Lots and lots of trees.

"Oh, good," he said. "Trees."

No one reacted; he wished Daniel were there. Danny-boy had always been good for a childish back and forth about the annoyances of planetary flora.

With a disgruntled sigh, he shook his head. "I'll take point. Teal'c, you watch our six. Carter, Buffy—follow me."

They tromped through the woods for a couple of hours, Jack stopping to consult a compass occasionally. Buffy kept their pace with no complaint, which did impress him. A little. Most people didn't handle their first trip through the stargate so gracefully. Didn't keep him from wishing he knew a hell of a lot more about her, though. Despite the way he tended to act, he was very serious when it came to his job and he hated to be uninformed. When he'd complained to Hammond that he needed to know more about his new team member, though, the General had just said that his hands were tied but that he'd been told that Buffy would be incredibly valuable in a fight.

When he'd asked Buffy about it, she'd just looked at him with those haunted eyes and said that he'd have to see her in action to believe it, so why bother wasting both their time before that?

"Carter, how far away are we?"

"The UAV showed a settlement less than a mile from here, sir," Carter said.

There was a gradual incline as they continue to walk, until they reached the crest of the hill and the tree line of the forest. Jack felt the rest of his team come abreast to him as they looked down at a small village.

"Looks Nordic," Buffy said. "Check out the helmets."

It was true. The men were all wearing pointed helmets, reminiscent of those worn by the Vikings.

"I don't suppose you speak…Nordic?" Jack said.

"Um, just a bit," she replied. "A friend of mine is fluent, and she taught me a few phrases."

"So you'll communicate for us," he clarified.

"Well, I can say, 'Gentle stranger, have you seen any rabbits in the immediate vicinity' and 'May your nether regions be cursed with oozing pores,'" Buffy said. "I don't think either phrase would be very helpful."

"Okay, Plan B," Jack decided, sending her a dirty glance. "Let's see if they speak English."

"Yeah, I don't get that," Buffy said. "How can anyone off world speak English?"

"I've never understood it either," he said with a shrug. "Whenever I ask Carter or Dan—whenever I ask Carter, she acts like it'd be over my head. I think that means she doesn't know either."

The foursome headed down the hill towards the village. "Hi folks!" Jack said once they reached the center of town. "Does anyone understand me?"

"We understand you," a man said, coming forward. He was massive, and actually looked a lot like Thor's hologram representation that he'd used to convince people he was a god. Which, Jack supposed, made sense if they were descended from a Norse culture. "What is it you wish to say to us?"

"We're peaceful explorers from Earth," he said, remembering Daniel's old spiel. "We've come to learn about your culture."

"You came through the Chappa'ai?" the man pressed.

"The chap-what?" Buffy whispered to Carter.

"It's Goa'uld for the stargate," Carter whispered back.

"Right. I knew that," Buffy said.

"Yes," Jack told the villager.

The villager nodded. "Then you are the ones we were meant to look for." Suddenly he raised his voice. "Jaffa! Jaffa of Isis! Come now!"

Before Jack could react further than putting his hand on his P90 and stepping closer to Carter and Teal'c, Jaffa were pouring out of the woodwork, staff weapons at the ready. Their foreheads bore a sigil he didn't recognize, some sort of flower.

"Surrender!" the leader of the Jaffa shouted, aiming his staff weapon at Jack. "Surrender, and be brought before your god."

"Hey, I don't have a god," Jack protested, even as a staff weapon was jabbed into his back by a Jaffa behind him. "Oh, fine," he grumbled, dropping his P90 and listening as Carter and Teal'c did the same. "We surrender. Take us to your leader."

It was only as he, Carter, and Teal'c were rounded up, disarmed, and prodded away from the town—and the stargate—that he suddenly realized that one of his team was missing.

Where the hell was Buffy?


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Buffy was wondering exactly how she'd let herself be talked into this. She could have been back home, patrolling through cemeteries at 2 a.m. looking for evil undead, fighting against a powerful desire to find a tall building and jump off, being stalked by a bleached vampire with a chip in his head…okay, bad example. The point was, she'd only been off-world for, what, three hours, and already the rest of her team had been captured and she'd chipped a nail climbing a tree to hide from the Jaffa. It had been easy to slip away unnoticed as Jack and the Jaffa faced off, and she'd been following them ever since, looking for a good opportunity to stage a rescue.

"Stupid president," she muttered, tromping over twigs and leaves as she followed the swath the Jaffa had cut through the forest. "Stupid money. Stupid Buffy."

At least they didn't have far to go. The Goa'uld mother ship was about a mile from the town, an enormous pyramid that, in her opinion, really didn't look very aerodynamic. She watched as the rest of her team was shoved into the entrance to the pyramid, then settled against a tree to wait.

In a couple of hours, they'd be overdue to make contact with the SGC, and then she could put into action the plan she was beginning to formulate.

_Yes,_ she thought, watching as two Jaffa patrols—twelve men total—assumed defensive positions around the ship. _This is doable._

* * *

"Did either of you see what happened to Buffy?" Jack hissed once they'd been escorted to the lavish antechamber of the ship and left with a small contingent of Jaffa to guard them.

"I lost track of her, sir," Carter said, biting her lip in concern for both their errant teammate and their own precarious position.

"Indeed, Buffy Summers disappeared most ably," Teal'c said, with what might have been admiration.

"Let's just hope she convinces Hammond to send reinforcements," Jack said, glancing covertly at one of their guards; the Jaffa glowered back, clearly not about to be caught unawares. "Otherwise, this could be a very, very bad day."

"Silence!" a Jaffa shouted, just as the door slid open and the heavy clunking of Jaffa feet signaled the arrival of another party. "Silence, and bow before your god, Isis!"

If Daniel were here, he could tell them something about this new Goa'uld. Jack couldn't remember ever having heard of Isis before. Daniel was off doing his not-dead-another-plane-of-existence thing, though. At least, Jack hoped he was.

"Listen," Jack said, "I'm not so big on the whole kneeling thing. My knees just aren't what they used to be, and—ow!" He really should have been used to Jaffa whacking him on the back of his legs with staff weapons, but it managed to be just as painful every time.

Isis walked, no, flowed, into the room. She was a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and a face that gleamed. Her brown eyes flashed gold as he watched. Her lips curved into a cruel smile.

"The tau'ri," she drawled, her voice deep and inhuman. "We _are_ pleased."

"How'd you even know we were going to be here?" Jack demanded. He'd been wondering that since the Jaffa had first shown up, worried that there might be some sort of leak in the SGC. He didn't know how Isis could have anticipated their arrival otherwise.

She smirked, flexing her hands to draw his attention to her hand device. "All the Goa'uld are now familiar with the device you call the 'UAV.' It was simply luck that we happened to be on this planet when you sent that device here." Abruptly, she frowned. "But where is your fourth? Where is Daniel Jackson?"

"Well, obviously your information isn't as good as you think," Jack said. "Daniel's dead."

"Nonsense," Isis snarled, her eyes flashing again. "We know that you came with a fourth member. Where…is…Daniel…Jackson?"

He tried to push to his feet and felt himself shoved back down again. "Daniel's dead!" he shouted. He let out a cry of pain as she blasted him in the head with her hand device. His eyes watered as agony swept through his brain, a piercing knife of pain that seemed to go on…and on…forever, and ever…

And then was over. He dropped to his hands, panting, and over the sound of his racing heart and the painful pounding in his head he could hear Carter shouting, "He's telling the truth!"

"Hmmmm. We believe you are telling the truth. That was quite satisfying," Isis smirked, unmoved as he glared up at her. "Though we do not have the grudge against you that so many of our kind do—in fact, we are grateful to you for the deaths of Ra and Setesh—we have heard such stories that we are eager to test your mettle."

"You stinkin', slimy, sonofabitchin' snake—" Jack's unnecessary but oh so satisfying rant was broken off as she used the hand device again, frying his brain like an egg. She kept at it this time until he sank into blessed unconsciousness.

* * *

Buffy was kind of bored. Which was ironic, considering where she was. On another planet, stranded, alone, trying to figure out how to rescue her team.

Still, bored. She couldn't leave her position, because she'd decided it was the optimal strategic place to stage her attack. She couldn't hum or listen to music because, well, duh. As far as good places to be bored went, she was starting to think darkened cemeteries were better than an off-world forest. On the other hand, how long had it been since she'd been pleasantly bored? As far as negative emotions went, this one was pretty mellow. Much better than the depression she'd been feeling lately.

Her radio crackled. "SG-1, report. This is Hammond. SG-1, do you copy?"

She lifted it to her face. "Uh, General, this is Buffy. Can you hear me?" Actually, what she really hoped was that the rest of SG-1's radios had been discarded and the Jaffa weren't listening in, because if they were things could go very wrong.

A pause. "Ms. Summers? Where is Colonel O'Neill?"

"Oh, you know how it is, General. Wandered in, met a local, got captured," she quipped. "Some Goa'uld named Isis."

"Captured!"

"Yup. Say, can you take a look around the gate with the Alf? See whether it's guarded?"

"I think you mean the MALP," Hammond said, but there was a pause as he did what she asked. "We're seeing at least five Jaffa," he said heavily. "I'm sorry, Ms. Summers, but I can't authorize a rescue mission as long as the gate's guarded."

"That's okay. I've got a plan."

Another pause. "You have a plan?" She gave him points for only sounding slightly incredulous.

"Yeah. How long can you keep the gate open?"

"38 minutes."

"Should be long enough," she said, crouching behind a tree and examining the Jaffa guards again, taking in their ready postures, the positions of their weapons. "Yeah. Long enough. Here's what I need you to do, sir…"

* * *

"Uhhhhhh," Jack groaned.

"Do not try to move, Colonel O'Neill," he heard Teal'c say. "You will experience some discomfort."

"Yeah. You could say that," he said, cracking his eyes open and noting to his surprise that they were still in the antechamber, although Isis had disappeared. "What's goin' on?"

"Um, you passed out, sir," Carter said. "Isis left us alone when you were unconscious. I really don't think you should antagonize her like that, sir."

"Kept her from turning on you or Teal'c, didn't it?" he said, pushing himself slowly to his elbows and resisting the urge to vomit.

Suddenly there was a noisy clamor from outside. "Jaffa!" came Isis' unmistakable voice. She sounded upset, maybe annoyed. Maybe even a little afraid. "Kree!"

Jack felt his hopes lift as the guards in the room hurried away. Carter and Teal'c leapt to their feet, seizing the opportunity to escape, but he had a bit more difficulty. "O'Neill," Teal'c said urgently, grabbing his arm and hauling him upright. "We must—"

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when the Jaffa—plus about twenty more—returned, along with Isis and a small, struggling girl.

"Oh, this is just perfect," Jack muttered.

Buffy stopped struggling—what good, he wondered, did she think she'd be against the two hulking Jaffa who were holding her?—to smile blindingly at the three of them. "Hi, guys," she said cheerfully. "How's it going?"

"Silence!" Isis shouted, backhanding the girl hard enough that Jack was surprised she didn't break something. "How dare you insult us this way!"

Jack blinked. Buffy had managed to insult a Goa'uld? "Buffy."

Buffy coughed, turning her head slowly, looking less dazed than she should from the force of the blow. "Yes, Jack?"

"What'd ya do?"

She shrugged. "Oh, you know. Me and SG-4 took out a bunch of Hissy's Jaffa, and now she's pissed."

"Oh yeah?" Jack said casually. "Nice job."

"Silence!" Isis shouted again. She grabbed Buffy by the throat, indicating for the Jaffa to release the girl. Then, using her symbiote-enhanced strength, she lifted her slowly into the air. "You will tell me where the others you came with have fled."

"I'm not gonna tell you anything," Buffy gasped, her small hands coming up to pry uselessly at Isis' impenetrable grip.

That's right, Jack thought, even as an impossible rage began to course through him, fury at seeing one of his team—even a new member—treated that way. Don't say a word.

Then Isis lifted the hand device, and for the first time, on her first trip off-world, Buffy had the good fortune to experience the torture the Goa'uld could impose.

The sunny blonde from California didn't scream. She didn't make a sound, just sort of twitched as the beam of light connected with her forehead.

"Tell me what I want to know," Isis said slowly, her lovely features twisted into a hideous expression.

"N-no," Buffy gasped. Which only caused Isis to redouble her efforts.

It went on for over a minute, long enough that Jack was amazed that Buffy was still conscious. He could feel Carter and Teal'c on either side of him, the tense, helpless rage in their bodies. They'd been in this position before many times, being forced to watch as one of their team was tortured, and it never got any easier.

When Isis let up again, Buffy was sobbing. "Please," she said. "Please…don't do that again."

"Then tell me where the other team is," Isis said, her eyes glinting with imminent victory.

"I can't," Buffy choked out. "I don't know where they are." Then, seeing Isis raise her hand again, she cried, "But I can find out!" Jack's breath caught in his chest as a sudden tide of betrayal rose at the back of his throat.

Isis tilted her head. "How?"

"My radio," Buffy said brokenly.

"Buffy, no!" Jack shouted. "Don't you tell that Goa'uld anything." A staff weapon to the face sent him reeling again, cursing as he felt his tender nose.

She averted her eyes, and accepted the radio when one of the Jaffa brought it to her. Swallowing heavily, she said, "SG-4, come in."

A pause. "This is SG-4 niner."

"This is Buffy. I just got away. What is your location?"

"We're about three clicks due north of the mother ship. We'll await your arrival."

Now Isis' grin was full-blown. She turned to the Jaffa. "Go," she said. "Bring them back alive."

All but two of the Jaffa obediently trotted off. Jack glared at Buffy as viciously as he could, but she just hung her head as several minutes passed.

He glanced at Carter, who looked defeated, then Teal'c, whose solemn expression conveyed no hint of the disapproval he knew the alien must be feeling. None of them had ever given up information to a Goa'uld, especially not after just one blast with a hand device.

He looked back at Buffy, who was still standing there in that useless hangdog position. He almost got the sense that she was waiting for something.

Then she moved.

One jab of her elbow to one of the Jaffa's symbiote pouches doubled him over; a punch to the face of the other sent him reeling. Her right foot came up to snap into the face of the first Jaffa, knocking him unconscious, and a roundhouse kick dropped the other. It all took about a second, and Buffy wasn't even breathing hard.

It was the single most stunning instance of martial arts Jack had ever seen.

Apparently Isis thought so too. "What—" was all she had the chance to say before Buffy launched herself with a flurry of blows at the Goa'uld, knocking her off balance, then somersaulted over her, reached out, seized her by the back of the neck in her tiny hand, and, with one jerk, pulled out her spine, symbiote attached. Her hand glistened wetly as she dropped the bony, Goa'uldy handful and stomped on it. A moment later Isis' body dropped with a thump to the floor.

Her nose wrinkled as she wiped her hand on Isis' clothes. Then she looked at SG-1. There was something feral in her eyes, something that Jack now realized had been hidden before, just beneath the surface. This was a very dangerous woman.

Jack swallowed. "Well, Summers, that was…disgusting," he said, barely noticing his own switch to calling her by her last name. Somehow, he didn't think someone who was able to do what she'd just done should be made fun of for her name. "And…impressive."

"Indeed," Teal'c said emphatically.

"Doesn't excuse the fact that you just sent a horde of Jaffa after one of our teams though," Jack added, remembering why he'd been angry.

Buffy looked unimpressed by his tone. "I'll explain everything later," she said. "We need to hightail it back to the gate while the Jaffa are gone."

"Are you insane, Summers?" Jack said, taking a zat gun and staff weapon from one of the Jaffa and watching as Teal'c took a staff weapon and Carter another zat. "We're going to rescue SG-4's butt right now."

"They're not out there," she said, hand on her hip and eyes narrowed, as if he was the one being stupid. "It was a trick!"

His fury abated somewhat.

"A trick," he said slowly.

"Yes, to get most of the Jaffa to leave. And it worked, but they're gonna be pissed off when they come back. Can we go now, please!"

She led the way out of the building quickly, the rest of the team lagging somewhat behind. They paused, stunned by the carnage they found just outside the mother ship: twelve Jaffa mostly either dead or unconscious, none with bullet wounds. They'd just been…beaten up. Some of them were even conscious, but made no move to stop SG-1, as they were too busy moaning from the pain from their wounds.

"We're gonna have a long talk when we get back to the SGC, Summers," Jack said. They began to jog back toward the stargate. Jack was keenly aware that he was holding the group back, but the further they went the more his head began to clear and the debilitating pain faded to faint nausea.

"We'll have to get past the Jaffa at the gate first," Buffy pointed out. "Five of them."

"And you didn't think to mention this earlier?"

She shot him a look. "I'm telling you now."

The sun was just beginning to go down when they neared the clearing in the forest where the stargate stood. They crept forward slowly.

"Yup," Jack said. "Five Jaffa, just like we expected. All right. Teal'c, you take the two on the left, Carter take the one in the middle, and I'll get the two on the right."

"Ahem," Buffy said. "What about me?"

"No offense, Summers, but I don't know how good your aim is, and we need to make sure this happens quickly."

"Jack, I could shoot a fly off of your nose from fifty feet away, if I wanted to. I'll take the guy on the far right." Her tone was no nonsense.

He huffed. "Fine." He handed her his zat. "Everyone understand? Let's do it."

The five Jaffa were down before they knew what hit them, Buffy's aim proving to be as good as promised. "Carter, dial it up," Jack ordered as they ran for the gate, keeping an eye out for any extra Jaffa who might be lurking somewhere. Still, he found himself taken off guard as one launched himself out of the forest to land on Jack, seemingly with the intent of pummeling him to death.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c shouted, bringing his staff weapon to bear. Before he could fire, Buffy reached up and snapped the Jaffa's neck with a quick twist of her hands.

The stargate whooshed to life as Jack stared at the tiny woman, the adrenaline pumping through them both. "A long talk, Summers," he said. "Really long."

She grinned, baring teeth. "After you, Jack."

They leapt through the gate.

* * *

Buffy was somewhat surprised to be greeted by a team of SFs in the gateroom, although she realized that she shouldn't have been. It was only the sensible thing to do. Also waiting for them was General Hammond, who looked rather surprised to see that SG-1 was in one piece.

"Okay, Summers," were Jack's first words as he glared at their newest addition. "Please tell me we didn't just abandon SG-4 to the tender mercies of Isis's Jaffa."

"SG-4 hasn't gone anywhere, Colonel," Hammond said.

"So that whole radio communiqué…" Carter said, a smile of understanding growing on her face.

"Was all part of Ms. Summers' plan. The details of which I've yet to learn. I'm just glad you're all okay," Hammond said.

"Ah, well, General, about that. I could probably use a quick trip to see the Doc," Jack said reluctantly, hating to volunteer himself for time in the dreaded infirmary. "Just a little encounter with one of those Goa'uld hand device thingies."

"Go ahead, Jack," Hammond said.

"And Summers should come too. She needs to get checked out."

"Both of you, go," Hammond said. "Major Carter, Teal'c, let's debrief now."

Carter and Teal'c exchanged a glance. "Yes, sir."

"After you, Summers," Jack said, gesturing for Buffy to go first.

"I don't know where the infirmary is," she said, slouching and shoving her hands into her BDUs and looking like nothing more than a cheerleader dressed up for Halloween. A cheerleader who, he knew now, could snap a Jaffa's neck with her bare hands.

"Oh, you'll learn, Summers," he said airily, leading the way. "You'll learn."


	4. Chapter 3

Jack winced as Dr. Frasier shined a penlight in his eyes at the same time as he heard Buffy say, "Hey, watch where you're sticking that needle."

"You say a hand device was used on both of you?" Frasier asked, pulling the light away for one glorious moment before directing it at his other eye.

"Yeah," Jack grunted, shying away from the light. "Me first, twice, then Summers once."

"I'm perfectly fine," Buffy said from behind him. "Seriously. No, you don't need to—owwwww."

"You're not fine," Frasier said, with professional exasperation. "The hand device doesn't cause long term damage—as far as we know—but in the short term if often gives its victims a concussion as well as lasting nausea and dizziness. Are you experiencing any of those symptoms?"

"No," Buffy said, at the same time as Jack insisted, "Barely!"

Frasier sighed and shook her head. She was used to having to put up with O'Neill, of course, but for Buffy to turn out to be just as bad…The Air Force didn't pay her enough.

"Well, anyway, I'm going to keep you both on base for a few hours under observation, just to make sure. If you're feeling all right, I'll let you go home then."

"Fine," they said simultaneously.

"Do you always have to put up with that?" Buffy asked once Frasier was gone.

"You think that was bad? Try coming in here with a bullet wound." He slid off of the cot, standing woozily and looking at his much shorter teammate. She really did look good, actually. He'd never have guessed that she'd been hit with the hand device less than an hour ago. "You don't have to pretend to be fine, Summers. Anyone would be weak after what happened to you. There's no shame in telling the Doc."

She rolled her eyes, sliding lithely off her own cot and bouncing on the balls of her feet as if testing the resiliency of her knees. "Right, because you weren't just pretending," she said, rolling her eyes. "And I _am_ fine."

"In that case, feel up to having that little talk?"

She wrinkled her nose cutely. "Here?" She looked around the drab infirmary with distaste. "I hate hospitals."

"Feel like grabbing some grub?" he suggested. "I think if we work together we can make it to the mess hall."

At his words her stomach grumbled audibly. "Let's go," she said. "I could eat a horse. And a cow. And maybe even a pig, although that one I'd probably want cooked."

"There's pie," Jack said helpfully.

He could hear her stomach growl.

* * *

"So you're saying that somehow Ms. Summers disabled twelve Jaffa at once, then managed to take out two Jaffa and a Goa'uld?" Hammond asked, staring at Carter and Teal'c with the look that meant that he was doubting their sanity.

"That is correct, General Hammond," Teal'c said.

"We didn't see her take out the twelve Jaffa," Carter added. "What she did to Isis, though…It was pretty impressive, sir."

"Buffy Summers' tactics were also most excellent, General Hammond. She engineered a distraction to force Isis to weaken the defenses on the mothership to enable our escape."

Hammond sighed, rubbing at his bald head. "Well, Colonel O'Neill hasn't requested to have her removed from the team yet. That's a good sign."

"I do not think Colonel O'Neill will make such a request," Teal'c said. "Buffy Summers has proven herself a most capable warrior."

"She pretty much saved our bacon, sir," Carter said.

"All right. I'll have to wait to hear from Colonel O'Neill, but if his report is favorable, I'll tell the President. He'll be happy to hear that Ms. Summers is fitting in."

"Yeah, about that, sir. I did a little digging, and Buffy's background is, well, it's colorful. I don't suppose you could shed any light on it?"

Hammond looked at her evenly. "You'll have to ask her, Major." She couldn't tell whether he was hiding something, or whether he honestly didn't know.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Summers. Slow down. You're going to choke."

Buffy swallowed. "No I'm not," she said, shoveling in another mouthful of pie.

"Are too."

Swallow. "Am not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Summers, where do you put all that? Seriously. I'm asking. I gave up about twenty minutes ago, and I'm no slouch when it comes to pie."

She shot him a considering glance, probably contemplating whether to finally start telling him what he wanted to know. Apparently she decided in his favor.

"Yeah, well, you haven't been living off Doublemeat burgers for the past two months," she said.

He couldn't contain his grimace of revulsion. "Doublemeat? As in…the Doublemeat Palace, home of grease and heart attacks?"

She shrugged. "Money's been tight lately."

"And all you could afford was fast food?" He couldn't keep the disbelief from his voice. She was just a kid, after all. And wasn't she also the guardian for her sister?

She shook her head, shadows in her eyes. "I couldn't even afford that. I worked at Doublemeat, so I got free meals. It's been a rough few months."

Despite himself, Jack felt for her. "I'll say." He eyed the mess hall food, which he'd always found palatable enough, though unexceptional. "So all this is…"

She grinned around another forkful of pie. "Delicious," she finished for him. "Hey, look," she said. "It's Sam and Teal'c."

The other two members of their team joined them at the table.

"Did Janet let you go already?" Carter asked, surprised and accusing.

"Not exactly," Jack said shiftily. "We were hungry."

"Uh-huh. Well, our debrief with General Hammond went just fine, sir. He has some questions."

"As do I," Jack announced. "So, Summers—feel like giving us some answers?"

She swallowed a spoonful of jello. "What do you know about me?"

"Oh…enough to know that you somehow came back from the dead a few months ago, not enough to know how exactly you fight as well as you do."

"Right," Buffy said. "Well, when I was fifteen years old, this creepy old man from England approached me." She paused as if to make sure they understood.

"Creepy old man from England," Jack repeated.

"Yup," she said. "Anyway, so this creepy old man, he told me that I had a destiny. To fight vampires."

"Vampires." This from Carter.

"Yeah, well. Imagine how I felt. There I was, this empty headed cheerleader, and…Anyway, I thought he was crazy. Then he threw a knife at my head, and I caught it."

"You caught it." Jack and Carter both looked at Teal'c, who normally didn't sink to the level of repeating what other people said.

"Right. Surprised me too, let me tell ya! Well, after that, I agreed to go with him to a cemetery. And then I killed my first vampire."

"Of course you did," Jack said mockingly. "Listen, Summers, if you don't want to tell us—"

She shrugged. "Fine. Don't believe me." She forked another mouthful of pie into her mouth.

A long moment went by before it became obvious that she didn't intend to say more.

Jack groaned. "Come on, Summers," he said. "You can't expect us to believe that vampires exist. I mean, okay, yeah, you can kick butt, but so can Teal'c. Or anyone possessed by a Goa'uld, for that matter. And what you did on that planet, I mean sure, you're strong, but you didn't do anything that was inhuman. I've known some special operatives who could do what you did. Hell, twenty years ago I could have." _Maybe,_ he added silently.

Buffy cocked her head. "Could you have taken out the twelve Jaffa guarding the ship, too? Because that would be impressive."

Jack frowned. "Maybe," he said mulishly. That wasn't humanly possible. Teal'c couldn't have done it. Hell, Bra'tac couldn't have done it. Not without using weapons. "It's more likely than you being a vampire, anyway."

She blinked at that, the corners of her lips curling up for a brief moment. She shrugged again. "Fine." Another forkful went in her mouth.

Jack opened his mouth to berate her again but Carter beat him to the punch. "I don't suppose you could offer some sort of proof about what you're saying?"

Buffy tilted her head thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose I could take you patrolling with me. Colorado Springs isn't a hellmouth like Sunnydale was, but there must be a few vamps here I can take care of."

"Patrolling?" Teal'c said.

She shrugged, an elegant roll of her shoulders. "Sure. I used to go out every night, hunting for vampires. They were attracted to Sunnydale because it was the center of mystical energies, so there was a very high population there."

"So we have to wait to go patrolling with you to see more of your skills in action?" Jack said doubtfully. "You realize that you're making it really hard for us to trust you. How can I know you're not an NID plant?"

"Well, does it help that I don't know what the NID is?" Buffy hesitated. "Or," she said, looking suddenly at Teal'c, "we could go have a sparring session. Right now."

"No way," Jack said.

"Why not?" she said, her lower lip jutting out, arms crossed over her chest.

"The reason we're still on the base at 8 p.m., Summers, is because we might be injured," he pointed out. "Somehow I don't think letting Teal'c pummel you is going to help."

"The doctor didn't say no activity," Buffy pointed out. "She said to stay on base. We'd be staying on base."

"I think the 'no getting pummeled' bit was implied," Jack said, unimpressed.

"Jaaaaack," she whined.

He frowned. A small part of him was tempted. Okay, he was really tempted. What he'd seen her do on that planet was shocking, and her explanation was a joke if he'd ever heard one, but maybe if they could see her in a controlled environment…"If you can beat me in that arm wrestle you owe me, then maybe."

She smirked. He put his elbow on the table. She grabbed his hand. His arm hit the table.

"Geez, Summers," he said, shaking out his hand, which felt like it had been crushed. "You do eat your spinach, don't you?"

"Admit it Jack," she said, looking way too smug. "You're weaker."

"Hey! I got hit with the hand device twice," he protested.

"Uh-huh. So, Teal'c, let's do it."

"I have no wish to damage you, Buffy Summers," Teal'c said gravely.

She smiled at that. "I really don't think you will, Teal'c. And I promise you, Jack—I'm totally fine. I'm pretty durable." To prove her point, she bounced out of her seat. "C'mon, Teal'c," she cajoled. "I've been wanting to see what you're made of ever since I sensed little Roo in your pouch there."

Teal'c stood deliberately. "Roo?" he said, cocking an eyebrow.

She blinked. "Sure. You know, Winnie the Pooh?" At his uncomprehending expression she said, "It's a kid's story. Two of the characters are Kanga and Roo—the mother and baby kangaroos."

As they strolled out of the mess hall, Jack and Carter close on their heels, Teal'c said, "What is a kangaroo?"

* * *

"Okay," Jack said, leaning back against the wall and watching as Buffy and Teal'c took up positions on the mat. Buffy rolled her head on her neck, limbering up, as Teal'c stood passively at the corner. "Here's the rules: Summers, don't die. Teal'c, don't kill her."

Teal'c bowed his head in Jack's direction, but Buffy just rolled her eyes.

"So, Carter," Jack said. "Care to lay a small wager?"

"Sir," she said reluctantly, "I know that you think I'm all about the girl power, but really—I don't even think she should be outside the infirmary, let alone fighting Teal'c."

He mock frowned. "Carter, I appreciate your concern for our new teammate, but I'm the one betting on Buffy. You'd be betting on Teal'c."

"Really." There was laughter in her eyes.

"Oh, yeah. You should have felt that grip. Whew. So, shall we make it $20?"

"The $20 you owe me for losing the arm wrestling, sir?" Carter said.

"Right. That $20."

"You're on."

"Are you prepared, Buffy Summers?" Teal'c asked.

"I am," Buffy said with more solemnity than Jack expected. "Are you prepared, Teal'c?"

His eyes crinkled ever so slightly. "I am."

"Then begin," Jack said.

Instantly the two fell into fighting positions. Which for Buffy meant that she bent her knees slightly, and for Teal'c meant that the muscles in his shoulders tensed slightly.

For a long moment they simply regarded each other, neither moving. Then Buffy exploded forward, her fists flying almost too quickly to see. Teal'c took two blows to his chest, grunting from the force, before he began to dodge, bringing his arms up to block. He retaliated with several strikes of his own but caught only air, despite the surprising speed at which he moved. His foot struck out to swipe her legs out from under her and she fell to the mat, then did a backwards somersault to take up her position again at the corner of the mat.

Her grin was fierce. Jack realized that, for all of her apparent perkiness in the past day, this was the first time he'd really seen her smile.

"I don't think either of them knows what the word 'spar' means," Carter murmured.

"They've both been taught to fight to win," Jack replied. "Their fights are always going to be quick, with one going down when the other lands a strong enough blow."

This time it was Teal'c who attacked. He was not as effective in unarmed combat as he was with a staff or a staff weapon, but he was still more than formidable. He delivered a right hook to her chin that should have knocked her instantly unconscious but instead barely shook her, and she came back with a punch that knocked him several feet back. She took advantage of his momentary disorientation to smack him with a roundhouse kick to the chin that, astonishingly, sent Teal'c to the floor. Instead of pressing the advantage, Buffy stepped back and waited for Teal'c to push himself to his feet and retake his own corner.

"You are holding back, Buffy Summers," Teal'c said, rubbing his chin.

"As are you, Teal'c."

"Would you be willing to use the entirety of your strength?"

"Not today, Teal'c. Maybe another day."

Teal'c's face contorted into what, on Teal'c, passed for a grin.

"I shall look forward to it," he intoned.

Her lips twitched. "As will I."

Then Buffy's eyes rolled back in her head and she tilted face forward onto the mat.

* * *

Buffy heard voices.

"So, when I said that you were restricted to the base until I was certain you were all right, where in all that did you think I was giving either of you permission to spar with our resident Jaffa?"

"She said she was fine." That was Jack's voice. A man his age really shouldn't be allowed to sound that much like a five year old.

"And you haven't said the same thing every time you've been forced into my infirmary?"

"What's your point, Doc?"

"My point, Colonel, is that maybe you need to go through some more tests tonight, since you've obviously taken leave of your senses."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Uhhhhh." Who was that, Buffy wondered. The sound came again. "Uhhhhhhh." _Oh. It's me._

"Ms. Summers? Can you hear me?"

"If I say, 'I'm fine,' will you let me go home?" she wondered aloud.

There was laughter in the doctor's voice. "I don't think so. Ms. Summers, you were already walking around with a potential head injury, and were then struck several times by Teal'c. Do you remember?"

Buffy opened her eyes, unsurprised to find herself back in the infirmary. "Of course I remember," she said.

"Yes, well," the petite doctor said, eyes narrowed, "who knows what damage you've done to yourself now. You fell unconscious after the fight was over."

"Well, it has been a long day," Buffy said, sitting up and feeling only faintly dizzy. "I mean, what with the jet lag, and the traveling to another planet—is there such a thing as 'gate lag?—and the fighting, and the torture, and then coming back, and then the torture in this infirmary, and then the fighting. Plus the extreme hunger from the past few months. And the fact that I've been…not myself for a while. Maybe I shouldn't have challenged Teal'c today. Maybe. But I'm fine now. So, can I go home?"

"Well, I can't find anything wrong with you," Frasier said, sounding unsure, "other than extreme malnourishment and signs of fatigue, as well as some bruising that's already begun to fade. I'd like you to stay the night in the infirmary, but if you are determined to go home, I won't stop you. Provided you get someone to drive you home."

"Oh, I don't drive," Buffy said, standing and forcing herself not to rub her temples at the sudden wave of dizziness.

"You don't drive?" Jack repeated in disbelief.

"Oh no. Buffy and cars are two unmixy things. Like Buffy and alcohol. Bad experiences all around."

"How do you get to work?"

She shrugged. "Taxis? It's only my second day, you know. I don't have everything figured out yet."

"Tell ya what, Doc. I'll give Summers a ride home, as well as a ride to work tomorrow. Two for the price of one."

"You don't have to do that, Jack," Buffy said, but he held up a hand to forestall her protestation.

"You're on my team, Summers."

Their eyes met and Buffy realized that, for Jack, that was all that mattered. And she realized in a flash of awe that being on Jack's team was a precious thing indeed. Though there was still a hint of mistrust in that guarded gaze of his.

She had never been on someone else's team before. It was always her team. Her with the responsibility.

"Well, okay then," she said. She flashed Frasier a smile. "So, are we good to go?"

Frasier sighed. "Get out of my infirmary. Come back if you experience any discomfort. Do you hear me? Anything at all!"

Unfortunately, her two victims couldn't hear her. They were long gone.

* * *

"Nice truck," Buffy said, slouching comfortably in the passenger's seat.

"Thanks," Jack replied, patting the dashboard lovingly.

"Is my place out of your way?"

"Actually, no. You're half a mile from my house."

"Ah. Convenient."

"Yeah."

They lapsed into silence, each more exhausted by the events of the day than they'd admit. He pulled up outside her house after a short while, impressed by its size.

"Sweet house," he said.

"Yeah. The President had someone at the SGC pick it out, I think. More incentive for me to join up."

"You and the President are good friends, are you?"

"I've spoken to him twice. He seems like a good man."

"Oh, I suppose," Jack said airily. "I'm not a big fan of those politician types. Hayes' running mate, Kinsey, was a real piece of work."

"Hmm."

They lapsed into silence again.

"You did good today, Summers. Thanks for saving our butts."

"Thanks for letting me onto your team."

Jack snorted. "I'll be honest with you. It was a choice between you or Jonas, the alien from Kelowna."

Buffy glanced at him sidelong. "So? Teal'c is an alien."

"Yeah. But this alien watches the Weather Channel."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

"Right, well, good night. Thanks for the ride."

"No problem. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Seven thirty work for you?"

"Sure."

She cracked open the door and flounced out.

"Oh, and Summers?" he called out his open window. "We're gonna have to have another talk about vampires sometime soon."

She waved him away. Jack waited until she'd gone inside the house before putting his truck back in gear and cruising away. He glanced at the clock and cursed. He'd be picking her up in just nine hours.


	5. Chapter 4

Buffy was nearly in bed before she remembered with a groan that she'd promised to call Willow and Dawn that evening when she got home. She dialed the familiar number slowly, dreading the conversation. Her sister and best friend had been less than pleased when she'd announced that she was moving to Colorado indefinitely and not taking either of them with her. Of course, that displeasure had been tempered when she'd added that all of their debts and current bills had been paid off and that money wouldn't be a problem for the foreseeable future, but they'd still accused her of running away. It had taken some more help from the President to get Dawn's guardianship extended to Willow as well as Buffy, and before she'd left she'd made them promise to look after each other.

Xander had taken her departure the worst. He still wasn't talking to her. She was okay with that; after the things he'd said when she told him she was leaving, she didn't want to talk to him, either.

"Hello?"

"Dawn? It's me."

"Buffy! Willow, it's Buffy!"

She heard the click as Willow picked up as well.

"Buffy!" Willow said.

"Hi guys," she said tiredly.

"How was your first day? What's it like working at your secret base under the mountain? What exactly are you doing?" Dawn babbled.

"You know I can't tell you that. It's 'classified.' I _can_ tell you that I only nearly died once, and managed to kick some major butt."

"Can't tell us, as in, I should try to hack in? Or can't tell us, as in, mind our own business?" Willow asked, wanting clarification.

"The second one," Buffy said dryly. "Really, it's okay. I think this is going to be a good thing. How are you two?"

"We're good," Dawn said. Then, anticipating Buffy's questions, "Yes, I've done my homework, no I haven't burned the house down, yes I've stayed in at night, and no I haven't invited in any vampires. Other than Spike." Then, in a smaller voice, "I miss you, Buffy."

"Miss you too," Buffy said, and hated that even as she spoke she didn't really mean what she said. She didn't miss Dawn, or Willow, or Xander and Anya. She sort of missed Tara, and she missed Giles when she wasn't too busy being hurt over the fact that he had abandoned her in her greatest hour of need, and just after finding out what she'd gone through. She didn't regret leaving Sunnydale, though, and she was beginning to think that she never would.

She felt free.

"Listen," she said, "I'm really tired, so I'm going to go to bed. Take care, you two."

"Night, Buffy!" Dawn said.

"Sleep well!" added Willow.

She hung up and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

* * *

SG-1 didn't have a mission the next day. Buffy and Jack were debriefed by General Hammond, but fortunately with Carter's and Teal'c's reports he already knew what'd happened and didn't keep them long.

"How you holding up, Summers?" Jack asked once they'd been dismissed, staring at her and forcing himself to remember that she'd gone up against Teal'c the day before and not been outclassed. _Size matters not_, he thought.

She smiled tiredly. "Doing okay," she said. "I'm looking forward to our next mission. I get antsy when I sit around too much."

"What are you up to this fine day?"

"Actually," she said, "I'm meeting up with Jonas Quinn. He's going to work on teaching me the finer points of Goa'uld and the language of the Ancients."

Jack shuddered. "Lucky you," he said, in a tone that said the opposite.

Her eyes narrowed. "Why? What are you doing?"

He waved his hand dramatically. "Reports, reports, reports," he said. "I've got a backlog from about four months ago. That's about as long as I can push it before Hammond starts threatening to give me KP duty."

"Wanna trade?" Buffy suggested, a gleam in her eye.

He snorted. "I don't think so. I spent three months living the same day over and over again just trying to learn Latin. That's enough languages for me."

They parted ways at a corridor and Buffy headed to Jonas' office. She'd met the alien briefly the day before on her tour of the facility. He was too cheerful for her tastes, but she could sense his sincerity, his true desire to be her friend.

"I hear you saved the rest of SG-1 on your mission yesterday," Jonas said in greeting as Buffy stepped into his cluttered office.

Buffy blushed. "Well, it wasn't anything special," she demurred.

He shook his head, looking at her with wide, honest eyes. "Buffy, I wanted desperately to be on SG-1. I won't lie to you. But if it had been me in your position yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to do what you did. SG-1 would still be captives of Isis, maybe dead. You were the one they needed. You proved yourself."

She put her hand on his arm. "Jonas," she said, "If you'd have been there, you would have found a way. Don't underestimate yourself."

He looked away. "It's hard not to, when I'm stranded on an alien planet where everyone blames me for Dr. Jackson's death."

Buffy frowned. "I don't think they blame you," she said slowly. "It wasn't your fault. From what I hear, he chose to sacrifice himself to save a planet. They shouldn't discount what he did by blaming you."

Jonas swallowed. "Maybe so, but I think everyone here knows that there's someone missing. And they know that I'm the one who showed up in his place."

"Then I guess we've both got something to prove," Buffy told him. "Because I'm a poor excuse for Dr. Jackson myself. And on that note…Goa'uld me!"

* * *

Learning Goa'uld was slightly less painful than organizing parent/teacher night at Sunnydale High with a juvenile delinquent for a partner and Principal Snyder wheezing down her neck, and slightly more painful than studying for the SAT while patrolling. Buffy didn't really have a knack for languages, but she was pretty observant from years of honing her body—including, although she was sure Giles didn't know it, her mind—and, when she really concentrated, she could learn things with impressive speed. Certainly Jonas didn't seem to think there was anything lacking in her learning, and the morning lesson went by quickly, until Major Carter came to grab Buffy for lunch.

"We like to eat together as a team whenever we're on Earth," Carter explained as they wound through the corridors to the mess hall. "We spend so much time in tense, high-energy circumstances that it's always nice to take a breather and just enjoy each other's company."

"Sounds good," Buffy said. "So what's your story, Sam?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's your background? Family? Husband? You know, what's the what?"

Carter shifted, uncomfortable with the attention. "Um, no husband, or boyfriend for that matter. I'm a theoretical astrophysicist. I've got one brother, Mark, and my dad is a Tok'ra."

At Buffy's blank expression, she explained, "A group of beings physiologically identical to the Goa'uld, but who oppose them. They take only willing hosts, and share the hosts' bodies with them."

"Um, no offense to your dad or anything, but ewwwww," Buffy said. "I can't imagine willingly sharing my body like that."

Carter smiled faintly. "It's certainly an unsettling feeling," she said. "I've experienced it myself, although for me it was an unusual situation, and didn't last long. My dad volunteered to become a Tok'ra because he was dying of cancer, and blending with the symbiote would save his life."

"I'm pretty sure I'd rather die," Buffy said. After a pause she added, "Not that that's such a big deal."

"Dying?" Carter said. "Not such a big deal," she repeated disbelievingly.

Buffy shrugged. "I've done it twice. It doesn't seem to stick." Something about her tone told Carter she wasn't as blasé as she tried to appear.

"Your file claimed that you've been dead and buried," Carter blurted.

"You don't believe it?" Buffy raised an eyebrow.

Carter stared at her. "You mean it's true? I thought it was a glitch. I mean, we're talking about resurrection, right?"

Buffy looked away. "Yeah. It was pretty powerful magic. Tore me straight out of Heaven."

Carter shook her head. "I'm a scientist. I'm afraid I'm having a hard time believing magic and vampires exist. Or Heaven."

"Heaven exists," Buffy said adamantly, stopping and forcing Carter to stop with her. The younger woman's eyes bored into Carter's, conveying her certainty. "Believe me. It's not clouds and harps, though. It's just…peace. A feeling of eternal happiness. The knowledge that the people you love are going to be okay."

Carter was still doubtful. "Maybe what you went through is what we call 'ascension'—going to a higher plane of existence. That's what happened to Daniel." Carter choked on his name, her grief still strong.

Buffy shook her head slowly and started walking again. "No. I've heard about what happened to Dr. Jackson. He became a glowing ball of light and his body disappeared, right? I, on the other hand, fell a couple hundred feet from the top of a tower through a mystical portal that destroyed most of my internal organs, with the fall breaking most of the bones in my body, then was buried and spent a few months decomposing. Not ascension."

"Oh."

Buffy put her hand on the older woman's arm. "I'm sorry for your loss, Sam," she said, watching as Carter dashed away unwanted tears, looking almost angry with herself.

Their conversation was curtailed as they reached the mess hall. Jack and Teal'c were already there, Teal'c with a massive tray of sandwiches and jello. Buffy and Carter got their own food and headed to the table; Teal'c stood as they approached.

"I am pleased to see that you are well, Buffy Summers," he said, sitting only when the two women did.

"Five by five," Buffy said. "And looking forward to sparring with you again soon."

"Indeed," he agreed. "I hope someday soon to be able to introduce you to Bra'tac, my old training master. I believe you and he have much in common."

Jack broke in, "And that's high praise coming from Teal'c, let me tell you! So, how're you liking your new house, Summers?"

She smiled. "It's nice," she said. "Kind of big for just me, but I do like having space."

"Well, how's this," Jack said amiably. "The next time we have a team barbecue, you can host it. How's that sound?"

"Do I have to cook? Or, uh, own a grill?"

"Nah. I'll take care of that."

"In that case—sounds good," Buffy said.

"Great—your place at five on Saturday, then."

"Saturday!" That was only two days away. She scowled. "You could have warned me that it'd be so soon."

He smirked unrepentantly. "You could have asked." Before she could retort, he changed the subject. "So, Summers, when are you going patrolling again? I'm not saying that we don't believe you about the whole 'vampires are real' thing, it's just…we don't really believe you about the whole 'vampires are real' thing."

"Let's go tonight," Buffy said. "I haven't checked out the cemeteries here yet, but I'm sure I can find something to persuade you." Her eyes glinted in a way that made Jack abruptly nervous.

"How are your studies of the Goa'uld language proceeding?" Teal'c inquired.

"Ugh," Buffy sighed. "Don't ask."

"I would be happy to assist you," he said courteously.

"Thanks, Teal'c."

"Colonel O'Neill, how are your reports progressing?" Teal'c asked Jack.

Jack blinked in an innocent "who, me?" kind of way. "At this rate, they'll be done in, oh, a couple of years."

Buffy swallowed the last bite of her sandwich, then stood. "So, Sam, what time does sunset happen around here?"

"I haven't checked lately, but it should be around 6:30 tonight," Carter replied.

Buffy nodded. "Let's meet up at 6:15 then," she said. "Bring padding." She sighed dramatically and looked in the general direction of Jonas' office. "Once more into the breach."

The rest of SG-1 watched her trudge away.

"What do you think, campers?"

"Of Buffy, sir?"

"No, Carter," he said sarcastically. "Of Hammond."

"Er, right. I like her, sir."

"As do I."

"Well, she's no Daniel…but I think I like her too."

"I think she'll settle in fine."

"And she's way cuter in BDUs than Daniel ever was," Jack concluded.

* * *

SG-1 assembled topside at 6:15 sharp. They hadn't taken Buffy's warning about padding very seriously, although Jack and Carter had brought handguns and Teal'c was carrying a zat.

Buffy, on the other hand, appeared to be armed with a halter top, low riding jeans, Jimmy Choo shoes, and the same sharpened stick she had brought on their last mission.

Jack took one look at her and said, "You're joking, right?"

"Please," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "Look at you. Look at me. If you were a blood sucking fiend, who would you rather eat?"

Jack looked at Carter and Teal'c, hoping for backup, but Carter just grinned and shrugged. "She's got you there, sir."

"Now, I've done some quick research," Buffy said as they made their way to Jack's truck. "It looks like Clearview Cemetery is the most well-populated, as well as in the area where the most unexplained deaths occur. Do you know where it is?"

Jack's back stiffened. "Yes," he said, all joking suddenly gone from his voice. "Yes, I know the place."

Buffy sat in the back with Carter as Teal'c took the passenger seat. By the time they got to the cemetery, it was dark.

"Now what?" Jack said.

"Now? We stroll." And with that, Buffy sauntered off into the cemetery, whistling.

"Right. Stroll. Why didn't I think of that?"

They followed after her. Jack caught up to Buffy a moment later. "What are we looking for, Summers?" he demanded.

"Just wait," she said. "Try to look unintimidating, will ya?" She stopped abruptly, cocking her head as if listening. "Actually, step back, and observe."

Jack backed off, joining Carter and Teal'c, and stuck his hands in his pockets as he observed. Buffy remained where she stood, rubbing her arms and shivering. Jack was just about to step forward and ask what exactly he was supposed to be observing when two figures materialized out of the darkness. Jack wasn't sure, since it was dark, but he thought there was something wrong with their faces.

"Well, well, well," one said. "What have we here?"

"Looks like a lost little girl," the other replied, in a sing-song voice. "Do you think we should give her a hand?"

"Uh, guys?" Buffy said. "Hellooo. Standing right here." She drew her pointer finger along her pale neck, as if to emphasize its vulnerability. "Want a taste?"

The first…vampire…bared his teeth, revealing two inhumanly long canines. "Oh, yes," he breathed—do vampires breathe, Jack wondered. Impossibly fast, the vamp grabbed Buffy, jerking her much smaller body as he bowed his head to her neck. Jack took several steps forward, lifting his gun, only to stare as Buffy head-butted the vampire, sending him reeling. She hit him twice more in the face and once in the chest and when the vampire was off-guard she pulled out her stick. One quick plunge sent the stick deep into the vampire's heart, and when she pulled it out the vampire exploded in a cloud of dust.

There was a moment of silence.

"Woah," Jack said.

"Sir, that's—that's not possible," Carter said, astonished.

"Apparently it is very possible," Teal'c replied.

Buffy turned to the remaining vampire. "What are you?" he stammered.

"I know I'm new to town and all, but I still thought you'd recognize a slayer when you saw one," Buffy quipped.

The vampire actually took a step back. "Impossible," he said. "The Slayer is in prison."

Buffy sighed in annoyance. "Do I look like Faith to you? Am I tall? Brunette? A raging psychopath?"

"But then—who are you?"

Buffy smiled gently. "Guess."

He took in her short stature, her honey blonde hair, the way she twirled the stake in her hand. His eyes widened. "Buffy Summers is dead," he whimpered.

"What can I say? Rumors of my death have been…Actually, they were totally accurate," Buffy said. "But obviously your information is a bit out of date. I've been back for a while."

"Right." The vampire was slowly inching away. "You know, this was all a terrible mistake. Sorry for bothering you. I'm just going to—"

"Oh, no you don't," Buffy said, leaping forward and grabbing the vampire by the scruff of the neck, shaking it like a puppy rather than a man nearly twice her size. The vampire tried to struggle, but she shook him again and he froze. "Jack, Sam, Teal'c, care to join us?" she called.

The three members of SG-1 approached slowly, their weapons at the ready.

"Summers, what is that thing?" Jack demanded.

"It's a vampire. Sir," Carter said, her own voice disbelieving.

"I see that, Carter," Jack said.

"For what reason have you not killed this vampire, Buffy Summers?" Teal'c asked, clearly sizing up the vamp and finding it lacking.

"I figured I'd give you guys the chance to take a whack at it," Buffy said. "Plus, I'd like to see how zats work on vampires."

"I think I could take him," Jack said, examining the vampire. The thing didn't look so very scary, although, okay, the lumpy face and pointy teeth were pretty unsettling, and was a couple inches shorter than Jack was. "Let me at 'im, Summers."

"If you insist," she said, and let go. Instead of attacking, however, the vampire tried to edge away again. "You, stop!" Buffy ordered, her hands on her hips. "Did you hear about what I did to Glory?"

The vampire licked his lips nervously. "You, uh, beat her to death with a troll hammer."

"Yeah. So just imagine what I'll do to you if you piss me off. I tell you what—if you kill all three of my friends here, I'll let you go."

He appraised SG-1. "Really?"

"Yup. Scout's honor. Go for it."

The vamp nodded. Then he surged towards Jack, who shouted, "Woah!" even as he shot two rounds into the vampire's chest. To his astonishment the creature just kept coming.

"Bullets don't work on them," Buffy called out.

"Yeah, thanks," Jack muttered, pulling out his knife and circling the vampire warily. He tried rushing the vampire and was thrown back by a powerful blow to the chest, flying about five feet through the air to land painfully on his back. "Ooof!"

Before the vamp could leap on him, Carter came flying in from the side to tackle the vamp. She tried to use one of the holds she'd learnt in her study of jujitsu, but the vamp just shrugged her off, his strength far superior to her own.

"Hey, Sam, catch!" Buffy said, tossing her the stick. At Carter's disbelieving expression she said, "Mr. Pointy goes in the heart to kill him."

Nodding, Carter stabbed the vampire in the chest, the stick going in a good four inches. The vamp stared at his chest, then back at Carter, who realized with a sinking feeling that she'd missed the heart. The vampire grabbed her by the hair, jerking her head to the side and raking her neck with his fangs before Jack knocked the vampire away, pushing him to the side, where Teal'c calmly zatted him.

The vampire spasmed as blue electricity ran up and down its body, briefly stunned. Then it got back up and came toward Teal'c, its contorted features savage and inhuman. Teal'c shot it again, and this time the vamp was stunned long enough for Carter to grab the stake, jerk it out of his chest, and jab it back in, at the heart this time.

The vampire exploded, showering Carter in a puff dust and making her sneeze.

Panting, and knowing that he would be severely bruised the next day, Jack turned to Buffy. "Kill my friends and I'll let you go?" he demanded incredulously.

"I didn't want him going easy on you," she said, smirking.

"So, just to clarify," Carter said, looking a bit disheveled herself. "You've been fighting those things since you were in high school?"

Buffy bobbed her head. "Yeah. And things way worse than those."

Teal'c made a fist and placed it over his heart. "Buffy Summers, you are a true warrior," he said. "It will be my honor to fight by your side." He paused, then added with some humor, "I look forward to introducing you to Master Bra'tac."

"Thanks, Teal'c," Buffy said. She turned expectantly to Jack, whose face was expressionless.

"What?" he said, struggling to keep his face bland. "I already said you're on the team."

The corner of her lips quirked. "Right. Well, shall we take off? Unless you're up for some more vampire dusting tonight."

"I think that's enough for now," Jack said. He hesitated. "Give me a minute, will you?" He turned on his heel and began walking slowly toward another part of the cemetery.

Buffy glanced inquisitively at Carter and Teal'c. Carter hesitated. "Colonel O'Neill lost his son seven years ago," she said softly. "Charlie is buried here."

Buffy bit her lip. "That's terrible," she whispered.

"C'mon," Carter said. "Let's head back to the truck and wait for him there." As they walked, she said, "So what other ways are there of killing a vampire?"

"Well, like you saw, staking—and can I have Mr. Pointy back, please?" She took the stake from Carter's grasp and tucked it back into her pants. "Beheading—I don't recommend that one, it's pretty gross—and sunlight. Garlic doesn't do squat, except make them call you stinky. They can't enter your house unless you invite them, so as a rule I don't invite anyone into my house—just open the door and let them enter if they can. Crosses burn them, but some of the old vamps are barely affected by them. Holy water's pretty effective. Oh! And they don't have reflections."

"That's incredible," Carter said, her striking blue eyes alight with excitement. "Magic. It goes against, well, everything I've learned as a scientist."

Buffy patted her on the arm. "Don't worry. You'll get used to it."

"Don't get me wrong, I've seen weirder things," Carter said. "But the vampires—and you. You're so strong, Buffy."

Buffy shrugged lightly. "Through no choice of my own," she said.

"What did the vampire mean, when it said that the Slayer was in jail? Who's Faith?"

"I'd like to know the answer to that, too," Jack said, rejoining them. He looked like he'd aged about ten years. He unlocked the doors. "Hop in. I'll take us back to base."

Once they'd started driving again, Buffy said, "Well, normally there's only ever one vampire slayer at a time. That's me. But I died for a few minutes when I was sixteen, so another Slayer got called, Kendra."

"That's the girl you were accused of murdering," Carter said.

Buffy smiled mirthlessly. "You really did your homework, didn't you? I didn't do it, obviously. After Kendra died, Faith was called. She was always a bit of a loose cannon. She didn't take her responsibility quite as seriously as I did. Eventually, she killed a man—a human—by accident. I was there. She should have turned herself in, but instead she went evil. Joined forces with the Mayor, who was totally evil, and tried to help him become a huge demon. I put her in a coma. She woke up a year later, managed to switch bodies with me, messed up my life, and slept with my boyfriend. I managed to switch us back, and she's been in jail ever since."

"Right." After a second, Jack said, "You do know your life sounds like some sort of whacked out TV show, right?"

"What, and the Stargate is perfectly normal?" Buffy shot back.

"She has a point, sir," Carter said. "Considering the things we see every day, is this really so much weirder?"

Jack glared at her in the rearview mirror. "Yes," he said.

Carter thought about it. "Okay, good point."

They showed back up at the base, and Jack let Teal'c out to go back to his quarters and Carter to get her own car. "Remember," he called, "get some rest! We've got…P4X-something something something tomorrow."

Carter smiled. "Yes sir."


	6. Chapter 5

Note: Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed this story! For the timeline, this is the chapter that coincides with the beginning of season 6 of Stargate.

* * *

Unlike the planet they went to on their previous mission, the one they arrived at the following morning was a desert planet, and when they stepped through the 'gate they found themselves surrounded by sand dunes.

"All right," Jack said. "Whadda we know about this place?"

"The initial survey shows a small civilization two clicks from here," Carter replied. "This should be fairly standard recon, sir."

"Okay. Teal'c, you take point. Summers, you've got our six." For Jack, that was a huge sign of trust.

"Okie dokie, artichokie," Buffy said, falling back behind them.

They worked their way up the nearest hill in the direction Carter indicated. The sands did give way to trees eventually, though they were somewhat sparse. The world around them was oddly silent, with no sign of bird or other animal life.

"Jack," Buffy whispered. "We've got company."

He held his hand up to stop the others, then turned to look at her quizzically. "I don't hear anything," he said.

"Listen harder," she insisted.

Jack held very still, straining to hear anything. At last he heard a rustle. "To our left?" he whispered.

She nodded. Then she hesitated again. "And our right. And behind us."

Jack sighed. "Perfect. Just once, it'd be nice if we _didn't_ get captured."

"O'Neill, should we not attempt to return to the Stargate?" Teal'c said.

"Ah, no," Jack said, fingering his P-90 thoughtfully. "Let's try to make nice with the locals first. Maybe they're friendly." Obviously Daniel had rubbed off on him.

The men surrounding them slowly emerged from behind the trees. They wore loincloths and headdresses and looked altogether frightening.

"Or maybe not," Carter said helpfully.

"Hi," Buffy said, approaching one of the men with a grin. "Um, we're visitors from another planet. Take us to your leader."

The warrior examined her for a long time, unmoving, before abruptly turning and walking away, the others following right behind.

"Uh, I guess we follow them," Buffy said.

Jack clapped her on the shoulder. "Nice job, Summers." He pushed his P-90 up his shoulder and started walking.

They were led to a small village, the same one Carter had mentioned. It was really just a small collection of mud huts, with a fire blazing in the center. Women with painted faces and scant clothing moved around the huts, carrying some sort of vegetables and jars of water. The leader of the warriors pointed at the fire. "Go there," he ordered. "Sit."

SG-1 hesitated only a moment before obeying. Several women approached, bearing a clay bowl with some sort of herbs in it. They handed the bowl to Buffy.

"Are we…supposed to smoke this?" Carter said, staring at the small greenish leaves.

"Um," Buffy said intelligently, prodding some of the leaves with her finger.

"Excuse me," Jack said to a passing woman. "What are we supposed to do with this?" She didn't even acknowledge his presence, just kept walking. "Right, thanks," he called out.

"Perhaps the herbs are part of a guest ritual," Teal'c said.

"There were definitely some cultures in the olden days where people used to smoke herbs together as a communal activity," Buffy said tentatively.

"The olden days?" Jack repeated incredulously. "I call it the seventies."

They sat for half an hour waiting to be addressed, but nothing happened.

At last, Buffy said, "Well, it doesn't look like the villagers are going to address us unless we do something with it. Should we light it on fire?"

Jack shrugged. "You're our culture person these days, Summers. Your call."

Hesitantly, Buffy pulled a burning twig from the fire and poked it into the bowl of weed, sending up a puff of fragrant smoke. Immediately a man screamed, "Defilers!"

"Uh-oh," Carter said. They all stood quickly as the warriors approached, looking peeved.

"Look," Buffy said, dropping the herbs and stomping on them to stop the smoke. Unfortunately, the natives seemed even more furious when they saw that. "I think this was all a big—"

The leader tried to punch her, but Buffy ducked out of the way. Another tripped Jack, knocking him to the ground and making pain flare in his knee. "Why?" he ground out. "Why does this _always_ happen?"

Teal'c moved into action, knocking the warriors away as Carter fired her P-90 into the air and then pointed it at them. They seemed seemed frightened by the noise.

"Let's make for the 'gate," Jack said. "Summers, give me a hand—Carter, dial it up. Teal'c, keep an eye out."

Buffy jerked him to his feet with enough strength that he knew she could carry him, if necessary. He leaned hard against her as they hurried away, the warriors quickly recovering and coming right on their heels. They stumbled toward the Stargate more slowly than Jack would have liked. He cursed at the pain in his leg which held them back.

"Can we hurry it up, Summers?" he said.

"Do you want me to carry you, Jack?" she snapped.

The Stargate whooshed to life. Carter and Teal'c leapt through, and Buffy and Jack made their way up the stairs to the Stargate platform. Abruptly Buffy dropped Jack's arm and spun, pushing him through the 'gate as she did so. He endured the discomfort of traveling through the wormhole, then turned to see Buffy come backing through behind him.

She was holding a dart between her pinched forefinger and thumb.

"Did you just catch that?" he said.

"Maybe."

"Huh."

"Colonel O'Neill, what happened?" Hammond demanded.

"We ran into some natives, sir," Jack announced. "Then we smoked some weed and came home. Also, I'd appreciate it if Doc Frasier could take a look at my leg, as I think it's about to fall off."

Hammond accepted the report with impressive equanimity. "Medical team to the 'gate room," he said into a speaker. The SGC was quite used to that particular call, and within minutes Jack had been carted off to the infirmary.

"Ms. Summers," Hammond said, turning to Buffy. "If you'd care to debrief?"

* * *

It seemed totally unfair that Buffy's main job other than going on missions was to have to learn stuff. Still, she endured, reminding herself that these languages could come in very, very handy.

"And what does this symbol mean?" Jonas asked, gesturing to a picture of a keypad on a Goa'uld mothership.

"That's—raht," Buffy said, mostly sure. "It means, 'three.'"

He grinned. "Good. You're doing really well."

"Jonas, you learned this language in like a day," Buffy said dryly.

"I assimilate information very quickly," he replied. "It's just good genes. Anyway, I think with just a couple of weeks you'll have a very strong grasp of the basics. You've got a head start on Ancient, too, since you already know Latin."

"I just feel a little in over my head," Buffy confessed. She had to keep up a strong front whenever she was around the rest of SG-1, still feeling the need to prove herself. It was easier when she was around Jonas. "I've always been a fighter. Other people have done most of the thinking."

"Then isn't this a nice change of pace?"

"Hey guys," Carter said, popping her head into the office. "How's it going?"

"Mag'ra tan shree," Buffy grumbled.

Jonas coughed. "Uh, that means, painfully," he told Carter. "Plus another word I should never have taught her."

"Well," Carter said, "feel like going on a field trip?"

"Yes," Jonas said emphatically. "I still haven't seen the outside of your world yet. What are we going to see?"

"Do you like surprises?"

"Yes," Jonas said, just as Buffy said, "No."

Carter smirked. "You'll like this one."

"Major," Jonas said, catching her on her way out the door. "How do we know what color to wear?"

She laughed. Only after she'd left did her voice drift back down the hall, "We call each other every morning!"

* * *

They arrived in Nevada the next day.

"No way," Buffy said, staring at the sign that said Area 51. Her eyes narrowed. "Are the Roswell aliens real, too? Little green men?"

"Actually," Jack said blithely, "they're grey. We call them the Asgard."

The entire side of a building began to rise like a giant garage door, and SG-1 plus Jonas stepped inside.

"That's a space ship," Buffy said intelligently.

"The X-302," Carter said proudly. She began launching into the specifics of it, causing both Buffy and Jack to zone out. "And the fourth engine," she finished, "is able to open a hyperspace window, thanks to the naquadria Jonas gave us."

Jack climbed up to take a look inside the cockpit. "Oh, no," he said adamantly.

"What?" one of the engineers asked.

"Colonel O'Neill believes you are going to request that we test the X-302," Teal'c said in a tone that indicated that he wasn't pleased with the idea, either.

The engineer stammered and protested.

"Can I fly it?" Buffy asked, peeking at the control pad.

Jack paused. "Do you know how to fly a plane?"

"No, but how hard could it be?"

Jack coughed. "Summers, step away from the alien spacecraft."

Buffy crossed her arms and pouted.

* * *

A few days later, an unauthorized incoming wormhole drew all of SG-1 to the gateroom—including Jack, who was still in the midst of the Great Report Fiasco, and Buffy, who had learned how to conjugate verbs in Goa'uld as well as how to insult a Jaffa's mother.

"Who is it?" Jack asked.

"Getting an IDC," Harriman reported. "It's Bra'tac, sir."

"Oooh," Buffy said excitedly. "I've been wanting to meet him."

Bra'tac looked solemn, though, and when they greeted him he turned immediately to Teal'c and said, "I am sorry, Teal'c. It is Drey'ac. She is dying."

Teal'c hurried away to prepare to return through the stargate with Bra'tac. Only then did Bra'tac seem to notice the new addition to the team. He eyed Buffy with curiosity. Noting the direction of his gaze, Jack said, "Ah, Bra'tac, I don't think you've met Buffy Summers, the newest member of our team."

Bra'tac frowned. "Buffy Summers?" he said. "An interesting name."

Taking a page out of Teal'c's book, and remembering her lessons in Goa'uld, Buffy placed her fist over her heart and said, "Tek ma te, Bra'tac."

A slow smile crossed his craggy face. "Tek ma tek. You speak our language?"

"I'm learning," she said.

He nodded. "You are the one who was chosen to replace Daniel Jackson, then?"

"Not replace," Buffy corrected, glancing at Jack and sensing his tension. "I'm on SG-1, though."

"Buffy Summers is a most able warrior," Teal'c said somberly, appearing in the gateroom dressed in his traditional Jaffa garb. "Under other circumstances, I had looked forward to introducing you."

Buffy gave Bra'tac huge kudos for not looking doubtful at Teal'c's pronouncement about her skills. "Do you wish to accompany us?" Bra'tac asked. "We are returning for a solemn occasion, but there is no reason we cannot become acquainted with our new ally as well."

"Yes," Buffy said immediately. "I'll go. I don't even need to change!" She was wearing her BDUs, which were baggy and unfashionable but ultimately serviceable.

Jack coughed and she remembered that she was on a military base and supposed to defer to the guy in charge. Or something. "Uh, if that's okay with you, General Hammond?" she said awkwardly.

He smiled in understanding. "If you're sure, go ahead. And Teal'c, good luck."

"Thank you, General Hammond," Teal'c said.

The rebel Jaffa planet was dusty and a lot like Arizona. Buffy lagged behind Teal'c and Bra'tac, allowing them their privacy. She examined the tense lines in Teal'c's back and knew that he was far more upset by his wife's illness than he appeared. They reached a tent, but before they could go inside a smaller, skinnier version of Teal'c came out.

He glared at Teal'c. "How dare you come here?" he snarled. "My mother is dead because of you!" If looks could kill, Teal'c would be dead about now. She could tell the boy wanted to say more, but instead he spun away and stalked towards yet another forest. Teal'c hurried after him.

"Rya'c," Bra'tac told Buffy. "Teal'c's son."

"Why does he blame Teal'c?" Buffy asked, staring after her friend and his son.

"Rya'c is young, and inexperienced. He suffers from low self-confidence. He will learn."

"Should one of us go after them?" she asked uncertainly.

"I intend to," he replied. "Rya'c is my student, as Teal'c once was. I hope that the suffering he experiences today will be a lesson for him in the future. In the meantime, you may explore the camp if you wish. We will speak later."

"Yeah, go, go," Buffy said, shooing him away. "Take care of Teal'c and Rya'c. I'll be fine."

He nodded briskly before stalking away. Buffy turned more slowly back to the heart of the camp, where she found a bunch of Jaffa who seemed to be training. She wandered among them, drawing curious glances herself as she watched them go through several different katas she had never seen before. She stopped at the sparring ring, watching as two shirtless men faced off with wooden staffs, attacking each other with vicious blows, neither holding back.

She felt her concern begin to rise when one of the men hit the other hard enough to break his cheek bone, sending him to the ground. He spat blood. Instead of giving the man a chance to get up, the winner drove another blow into his spine, causing him to cry out in pain, and was aiming a final, debilitating blow at the back of the downed man's head when Buffy leapt into the ring and grabbed his staff with her bare hand, jerking it away.

"How dare you interfere, human!" the brute shouted, staring at her in rage. The man she'd protected coughed, pushing himself to his hands and knees.

"You could have killed him!" she shouted back, furious at his brutality. "You're on the same side—you should be training together, not trying to murder each other."

"You are weak, and a female," the Jaffa said, his lip curling disdainfully. "You cannot understand our ways."

"Maybe not," Buffy snapped, "but _you_ should understand that if I see you beat on someone like that again, I'll knock some sense into you myself."

"Are you challenging me?" he asked, shocked.

"I guess I am," Buffy said, only pausing to think that that might not have been the best idea when a grin spread across his handsome face.

"Very well," he said. "I accept." He stepped back, and his previous opponent, bleeding and bruised but otherwise fine, handed him his staff. Buffy kept the staff she'd taken, twirling it in her hands as she experimented with its weight. It was well-balanced and solid, much shorter than the Friar Tuck staff Giles had once taught her to use.

"You are foolish to challenge Day'cra," the man she'd defended told her, sounding concerned. "He is among the strongest of us."

"Just watch," she grinned.

Shaking his head, he stepped back. Buffy unzipped her jacket and tossed it aside, leaving her in a black t-shirt. She would have preferred to remove her boots as well, but decided against.

"When do we begi—" she said, then was cut off mid-word as Day'cra launched himself at her, much faster than Teal'c had moved the one time she sparred with him. She picked up her own pace in response, blocking his blows with her staff and feeling the shocks all the way up her arms. Physiologically he was nearly as strong as a vampire, but he was better trained in combat than most vamps were and knew how to direct his blows to maximize impact.

Like when she'd fought Teal'c, she felt herself begin to grin, becoming lost in the wonderfully free sensation of letting her instincts take over. She could be a thinker when she wanted to, but this—this was her true calling. Spinning, ducking, punching, kicking. She could have won the fight in the first exchange of blows, but did not out of respect for her opponent, who was really quite good. She could see the shock in his eyes—he had expected to lay her out with his first strike, and only now began to realize how badly he'd underestimated her.

She could hear the murmur of the Jaffa who were watching, also, and could translate enough of what they were saying to know she'd impressed them.

Growing bored, Buffy pushed herself up a notch, increasing her speed and strength and driving Dray'cra back, back, delivering punishing but not devastating blows until at last she swept his feet out from under him and placed the tip of her staff at his throat. "Yield," she commanded. He growled at her and she pushed down, just a bit. "_Yield._"

"I yield," he said, his eyes snapping with anger mixed with respect.

Holding him there just a moment longer, to make sure, she stepped back and offered him a hand. He took it and she hauled him to his feet.

Slow clapping drew her attention. She turned to see Bra'tac, who was watching her with great respect. "Never before have I seen such speed and strength in a human who was not host to a Goa'uld," he marveled. Beside him were Teal'c, who looked a little battered, and Rya'c, who was holding a staff weapon and staring at her as if she had two heads.

"What can I say?" Buffy grinned. "I work out."

Rya'c stared a moment longer before breaking away and running in the direction of the Stargate. Teal'c went after him.

Buffy hesitated, then moved to follow, but Bra'tac put his hand on her arm. "Let them go," he told her. "Rya'c is beginning to understand."

"Understand?"

"Yes. He is beginning to understand the terrible sacrifices his father has made to protect him," Bra'tac answered.

Buffy began to hand off her staff to one of the Jaffa who was watching, but Bra'tac said, "Wait. If you are uninjured, I would enjoy the opportunity to spar with you myself."

Buffy laughed, bending her knees and bouncing. "I thought you'd never ask." Even more Jaffa gathered around; she was willing to bet that everyone in the camp except for the sentries had come to watch.

They began to circle. Bra'tac was deceptively relaxed, seemingly unprepared; Buffy knew better.

"You are unusually restrained for one so young," he observed.

"And you're better preserved than most 130-something people I've met," she replied. "Although, my old boyfriend was over 200, and he had you beat as far as preservation goes." She paused as if to consider, and that was when Bra'tac struck.

Unlike Dray'cra, Bra'tac didn't try to win by overwhelming her with his strength or speed. Instead, he aimed for the most fragile parts of her body—her spine, face, and gut. His blows were quick and deliberate, stinging and disorienting. He struck and then retreated, struck and retreated. He was in perfect control.

Buffy stayed controlled to match him, although what she really wanted to do was unleash. She modeled her style after his own, experimenting with it. As several aches in her body could attest, in this fighting style at least she was outmatched by him.

"I may be many years your senior, Buffy Summers, but that does not mean that I am decrepit," he snapped. "The way you hold back is insulting to me."

Buffy blinked in surprise. She'd never sparred with someone who spoke to her like that before; Giles had always been patient and/or tolerant. This reminded her of behavior she had seen in old martial arts movies.

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure."

She let go. She fought as the Slayer was meant to fight. She was amazed that Bra'tac defended as well as he did; he blocked many of her strikes and managed to dodge so that most of those that landed were glancing.

"Harder!" he said, a pleased gleam in his eye. "You have greater strength—use it!"

Spurred by his command, she moved even faster, finally slipping through his defenses to strike his symbiote pouch hard enough to double him over; she used the other end of the staff to strike him in the face and her feet to sweep his legs out from under him.

He laughed from his position on the ground. "Good," he said. "Very good. You are no mere human."

She helped pull him to his feet, and reflected that she was doing that a lot for Jaffa these days. "No," she agreed. "I'm the Slayer."

"Slayer," he repeated, sounding out the unfamiliar word in his mouth. He nodded. "It suits you." He placed his hand on her arm. "Come," he said. "Let us rejoin Teal'c and Rya'c."

They passed through several ranks of Jaffa, all of whom bowed towards them as they walked. "They do you great honor, Slayer," Bra'tac said. "You have proven yourself, to all of us. Any Jaffa here would be glad to follow you into battle." He stiffened beside her, and she looked up to see Teal'c, Rya'c, and an unknown hurrying toward them. "Perhaps we will do battle together earlier than I had thought." He raised his voice. "Teal'c! What has transpired?"

"Earth is under attack!" Teal'c shouted. "My'rac tells us that Anubis has invented a device that causes one Stargate to attack another. We must find a way to help them."

"There are only four worlds Anubis holds from which he might be staging this attack," Bra'tac said. "The world we cannot access will be the one from which the attack is originating."

"I'm coming," Buffy said.

He shot her a look as if she'd said something stupid. "Of course you are," he said. "Hopefully I can remember all of the sequences needed to reach Anubis' planets."

Fortunately, Bra'tac had a mind like a steel trap, and it only took a few minutes to figure out which 'gate was occupied. They used a cargo ship to fly to the planet, which took several hours.

Buffy took the opportunity to introduce herself to Teal'c's son.

"Hey Rya'c," she said, feeling Teal'c's eyes on her. "I'm Buffy."

"Buffy," he repeated, staring at her. "That is a strange name."

"I get that a lot," she said. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard…nothing about you. You know, this is my first time in a spaceship."

Rya'c's eyes widened. "Truly?"

"Well, I guess it's the second, if you count the mothership," she mused. "But that never took off, so I don't think it counts."

"I have flown in space crafts such as these many times," Rya'c said, a little smug.

Buffy smiled patiently. "Well, I didn't even know the Stargate existed until a little over a week ago," she said. "It's been an interesting week."

"You are on my father's team?" he asked curiously.

"Yes. I'm new. We've only been on two missions together—I guess this makes three."

"You are young to go on missions," Rya'c said. She might have been offended, except that his voice was respectful.

"Hey, I'm older than you are, pal," Buffy retorted. "And don't you dare say I'm small, or I'll have to smack you around." She smiled to show she was joking.

"This is my first battle," Rya'c said. He looked at his father, who seemed deep in conversation with Bra'tac. Lowering his voice, he added, "I am…anxious."

"There's no shame in that," she said, fiddling with Mr. Pointy. She carried the stake everywhere these days, more as a good luck charm than a weapon. She saw Rya'c stare in confusion at the stick, and put it away. "I'm sure Teal'c is often afraid."

"He said that he has been," Rya'c said, his voice hushed. "I did not believe him."

"Believe it, buddy," Buffy said.

"And you, Slayer?" Rya'c asked. "Have you ever been afraid?"

"Me?" Buffy laughed. "All the time."

He crossed his arms. "I do not believe you," he said. "I have seen the way you fight. You defeated Master Bra'tac easily! You can have no fear."

"You're so wrong, Rya'c," she told him. "I think I've spent more of my life afraid than not." Seeing that he looked unconvinced, she said, "When I was sixteen, someone—someone that I trusted—told me that I had to fight a monster. And he told me that if I did, I would die."

"The man was wrong," Rya'c said simply. "A warrior such as yourself would not shy away from battle, and yet you are still alive."

Buffy shook her head. "No," she said, more sharply than she intended. "You're right, I did go fight him anyway. But only after I swore that I wouldn't. I tried to take the easy way out. I was—I was so afraid, that I was ready to let a monster loose to go after my friends, my family, the whole town, maybe the whole world, just because I didn't want to die."

"What changed your mind?" he asked intently.

"There were other, less dangerous monsters. They killed a bunch of kids I knew, and my friend found the bodies. She was…destroyed. Devestated. And I knew that I couldn't just do nothing. So I went after the monster, and he killed me. Not much, and not for long—he just hit me and left me to drown in a pool of water. My friends came along and resuscitated me."

"How did you kill the monster?" Buffy recognized the look in Rya'c's eyes now. Hero worship. He didn't doubt that she had defeated the monster in the end.

"I got back up, and I did what I had to do," Buffy said simply. "That wasn't the first time I was scared, and it definitely wasn't the last. I think it was the most scared I've ever been, though. For my own life, that is. I can't tell you how scared I am whenever I think of the things my little sister is going to have to face in the world."

Rya'c nodded thoughtfully. "You are strong, and brave," he said.

"Yes, she is," Bra'tac said. Buffy flushed as she realized that Teal'c and Bra'tac had been listening. "We approach the planet."

Buffy looked past him, out the view screen, and stared at the enormous planet that was now in their sights.

"Go over the plan again, will ya?" she said.

Bra'tac looked at Teal'c. "She talks much like O'Neill. Has the Slayer been spending too much time in that hassak's company?"

Buffy blinked. "I thought you liked Jack," she said.

Teal'c crooked a hint of a smile. "Master Bra'tac does indeed like Colonel O'Neill. He also enjoys putting O'Neill off guard."

"Well, Bra'tac, I'll have you know that I've always talked like this," Buffy said, miffed at the accusation that she'd stolen her speech patterns from Jack. "Now—the plan?"

"We will touch down in a copse of trees. Then the four of us will attempt to ambush the Jaffa operating the device, destroy the device, and save the Taur'i."

Buffy waited. "That's it?"

"Yes."

"That's the plan."

"Yes."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Well, as O'Neill would say, we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

Twenty minutes later, crouching besides Rya'c, who'd taken a blast to the shoulder, Buffy was seriously doubting Bra'tac's planning skills.

"What's the plan _now_, Bra'tac?" she hissed, bending low to stay out of sight.

"The plan is unchanged," he said, though he was beginning to sound worried. "We have lost the benefit of surprise, but still may be able to overcome the Jaffa around the device."

"Rya'c will stay here," Teal'c announced.

"What?" Rya'c protested. "But father, I am prepared to die."

Teal'c put his hand on Rya'c's shoulder. "But I am not prepared for you to die," he said.

"I'll stay here too," Buffy said. At the Jaffa's surprised glances, she said, "One more person's not going to make the difference in your attack, and if I'm right you're going to need backup. I'll stick with Rya'c."

They considered for a long moment before nodding. "Watch over my son, Buffy Summers," Teal'c said, meeting her eyes directly.

"I will," she promised.

She and Rya'c watched over the rise as Teal'c and Bra'tac approached the device. It was an enormous circle of energy, with a long ray of blue energy directed straight at the stargate. The two Jaffa moved stealthily forward, their staff weapons at the ready.

"My father is a skilled warrior," Rya'c said, sounding almost surprised.

"Yes, he is," Buffy said. "He should be a great role model for you." Then, "Oh, no."

"What is it?"

"Two Jaffa patrols converging on them," she said.

"I don't see anything," Rya'c replied.

"Trust me. I've got really good eyesight."

"What do we do?"

Buffy thought. "This is a Goa'uld base," she mused aloud. "There must be some kind of big weapons around here, right?"

"I—don't know," Rya'c said uncertainly. She understood his hesitation—his lack of confidence in himself—but this wasn't the time for it.

"Think, Rya'c! Time is kind of of the essence here," she said. "Who knows how long we have until the Earth 'gate explodes, or Teal'c and Bra'tac are killed?"

"The gliders!" he said.

"Gliders? You mean those Star Warsy spaceships?"

"Gliders are fighter crafts," Rya'c said. "I do not know this Star Wars."

"Where would the gliders be? Lead the way, Rya'c!"

* * *

Bra'tac was beginning to wonder whether his own planning skills were indeed in need of some improvement. He and Teal'c were now in the hands of Anubis' Jaffa, which meant that they could do nothing to save Earth from the attack upon it. He could only hope that Buffy Summers and Rya'c were safe and would find some way to save themselves.

A Jaffa approached. "Sholva," he spat. "Some of the Jaffa at the gate survived. I know there were two more. Tell me—where are the girl and the boy?"

Teal'c was just about to snarl back at him when there was a sudden roar from overhead. They all looked up to see two gliders swoop into view—one being flown competently, firing first in their general direction and then at the device. The second, Bra'tac realized, must have been flown by the Slayer, and rolled and twirled drunkenly, firing randomly in every direction.

"Rya'c," Teal'c said, grinning fiercely.

They took advantage of their captors' surprise to knock them out, and watched as the Stargate-destroying device exploded in a shower of sparks and electricity.

Rya'c landed his glider neatly and leapt out of the cockpit, looking like he'd just single handedly saved the world. Buffy's glider, on the other hand, zoomed towards them at a dangerous speed, swerved at the last minute to avoid hitting them, and crashed into a tent, taking out a couple of surprised Jaffa, skidding a good ways with the tent wrapped around it before finally coming to a halt.

The three Jaffa ran toward it, concerned for their small but powerful friend. They slowed in relief when the cockpit slid open and Buffy stuck her head out, dazed but otherwise unharmed. She leapt from the cockpit to the ground, blinking rapidly.

"Thank God flying a glider is nothing like driving a car," she pronounced, stumbling a little.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "For if you drove a car as you fly a glider, Buffy Summers, pedestrians in Colorado Springs would be in grave danger."

Buffy squinted. "Was that a joke? One of those Jaffa jokes? Because I've been warned about those." When Teal'c just stared, she added, "Because I thought I flew pretty well. I think I took out at least a couple of the prongs of that device thingy—"

"Those were trees."

"Oh."

"I believe we should leave this planet," Bra'tac said. "We must travel to Earth and ascertain whether we were too late. The flight will take several days."

Their cargo ship was undamaged, and they took flight almost immediately.

"Do me a favor, will ya?" Buffy asked the three Jaffa. "Can we speak in Goa'uld for the rest of the flight? I hear immersion is a good way to learn a language."

Bra'tac smiled. "Kem shol naht," he said, bowing with a fist over his heart.

Buffy blinked. "What?"

* * *

Three days later, Buffy was just about ready to start killing people. Don't get her wrong, she loved the three Jaffa men like brothers—or something—but there was only so much stoic, warrior-brother time she could take before she blew. Especially since they'd taken her Goa'uld-only request seriously, and as a result she could only understand about a quarter of what they were saying.

Plus, she'd gone past stinky and was now beginning to smell putrid.

"We are approaching Earth's atmosphere," Bra'tac reported in Goa'uld.

"Thank God," Buffy breathed.

He smiled tolerantly before activating the ship's radio. "Hammond of Texas, can you hear me?"

There was a pause before Hammond's voice came through. "Master Bra'tac, is that you?"

"It is. I have Teal'c, Rya'c, and Buffy Summers with me. We have destroyed the device Anubis was attempting to use to destroy your Stargate."

"Not a moment too soon, either," Hammond said. They could hear the grin in his voice. "We were about thirty seconds from sending our Stargate out into deep space to blow up and leasing the second Stargate from the Russians. I'll look forward to your debrief."

They landed not long after and were quickly brought into the SGC, where they were greeted by Hammond, Frasier, Carter, Jack, and Jonas.

"Summers!" Jack exclaimed happily, spreading his arms wide. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"What'd I do?"

"Oh, just kept me from flying the X-302 through an unstable wormhole to who-knows-where with a Stargate on the verge of being blown up—I think that's the technical term, right Carter?"

Carter smiled. "Yes sir. Blown up."

"Also, the Russians were being real pains in my butt—sorry, General—and I'm pretty sure they were about to demand something ridiculous in exchange for using their Stargate, like having one of their people on SG-1 or adding borscht to the mess hall's weekly menu."

"The real thanks go to Rya'c," Buffy said, clapping him on the right shoulder as Teal'c put a proud hand on his left. "He's the one who figured out how to destroy the device, I just gave him a boost. Plus, if it'd been just me flying the gliders, well…you'd probably be dead by now."

"Rya'c," Jack said, surprised. He smiled at the young Jaffa. "Well done, son," he said, shaking Rya'c's hand.

"And now," Buffy announced, to everyone and no one, "I'm going to take a shower." When Frasier stepped forward, no doubt to insist on performing an examination, Buffy glowered. "Stop me if you dare."

Napoleonic power monger though she was, Frasier got out of the way.


	7. Chapter 6

Hammond insisted they take it easy for the next week, which was equal parts frustration and relief. Buffy knew that the others needed some downtime—apparently things had been more than a little stressful here on Earth and Jack really had almost gone on a suicide mission—but she hated long periods of inactivity. Plus, she was absolutely sick of learning Goa'uld already, although Jonas had been flatteringly impressed by how much progress she'd made in her three days aboard the cargo ship with the Jaffa. She never felt like she could complain about all the studying, though, because, after all, Daniel Jackson had always done this kind of study—and more.

At last the week was over and it was time for the team barbecue at her place. They'd had to delay it a week since she was off-world on the day they'd planned to have it. Buffy was nervous; she had been very used to having Scooby meetings at her house, of course, and since she'd been back she'd actually been living with Tara and Willow, but this seemed very different. Willow, Tara, and Xander were still pretty much kids, Anya was, well, weird, and Giles, for all that he was their mentor, ofte seemed almost like one of he kids.

But SG-1 were adults. Sam was a genius scientist and an exceptional soldier. Teal'c was a noble warrior and former slave, who had challenged the power of aliens he had believed to be gods. And Jack, well, for all of Jack's childishness at times, he was far more intelligent than he led people to believe, brilliant in combat, and had the same shadows in his eyes that she saw whenever she looked into the mirror.

What, exactly, did adults do at a barbecue?

For example, did she use the company plates, or the normal plates? What kind of beer did they drink? On top of not being a drinker herself, Buffy also hadn't kept her old house stocked with alcohol because she couldn't afford it. Now that she did have money, she didn't know what to get.

Should there be music? If so, should it be the music that was popular now, or oldies, or maybe some kind of tribal music for Teal'c?

At least she didn't have to worry about being embarrassed by the quality of her home. She'd been given a generous stipend to pick out furniture and had used some of the taste her mom had instilled in her over the years to decorate the walls.

She checked her watch. 4:45. They'd be here any minute now. Unless this was the kind of thing where people were fashionably late.

She peeked out the window just in time to see Jack's massive truck pull up at the curb. He hopped out and walked around to the back, pulling out a grill. She smiled to watch the lanky Colonel wrestle the large thing up the walkway to her house. Jack reminded her of herself in a lot of ways, and she appreciated the way he'd welcomed her to the team despite plenty of reasons for him to doubt her.

She opened the door and leaned against the frame.

"Hey, Jack," she called. "Need a hand?"

He beamed. "Summers! Come use your super strength and grab this thing, will ya?"

Rolling her eyes, she hopped down the stairs and took the grill from him, hefting it with one hand and carrying it through the house to the backyard. Jack followed after her with a tray of raw beef patties, hamburger buns, and a bag of charcoal.

"The others should be here soon," Jack said, setting up the patties next to the grill. "I was going to give Teal'c a ride, but _apparently_ Carter's been at the SGC—big surprise there—so she's gonna drive them both over." He paused and examined her critically. She felt abruptly self-conscious, even though she'd chosen the most mature clothes she had. "You look nervous, kid. Relax."

"I'm not nervous," she said defensively.

"Uh-huh."

The doorbell rang. "I've got it," Buffy said. "You get the grill going." As she reached the back door, she looked back over her shoulder. "I'm _not_ nervous!"

"I didn't say anything!" he shouted after her.

"Buffy, hey," Sam said when Buffy opened the door. She was holding a large bowl. "I brought salad."

"And I have brought Twinkies," Teal'c said, holding up a large box.

Buffy tried not to smile. "Twinkies?"

"They are a most enjoyable dessert."

She stepped back to allow them inside. Sam let out a low whistle. "This is a beautiful house, Buffy."

"Thanks," Buffy said, pleased.

"Is your sister here?" Sam asked. "I was looking forward to meeting her."

Buffy blinked. "My sister?"

"Aren't you the guardian for your younger sister?"

"Yeah, but I share her guardianship with my good friend, Willow. We decided that it would be best for Dawn to stay in Sunnydale with her, rather than move to Colorado."

"I'm sorry," Same said sympathetically. "That must be hard, being away from her."

They stepped into the backyard, where Jack had gotten the grill going.

"Actually," Buffy said, "it's really not. It's kind of a relief being away from them for a while. Things have been tense since Willow brought me back."

"This Willow was the one who performed the spell that retrieved you from death, then?" Teal'c asked.

"Yeah. She was sure that I was in some sort of hell dimension. I've forgiven her—mostly—for bringing me back, but things have been…rough. Actually, I'm seeing them tomorrow."

"Oh?" Jack said, dropping some patties on the grill.

"Two of my friends are getting married." Buffy shrugged. "I'm just going for the day. I'll be a little late for work on Monday."

"I'm sure General Hammond would give you more time off," Sam pointed out. "There's no need to hurry."

Buffy shook her head. "Things back home are tense," she said. "I wouldn't miss the wedding for the world, but I don't plan to stick around longer than I have to." Clearing her throat, she changed the subject. "So, Jack, I hear you're a Simpsons fan."

The evening went surprisingly well. Buffy was glad to find that she genuinely liked her teammates and enjoyed spending time with them. She kept the conversation mostly off of herself, which was a relief, and instead asked more questions about the others. After polishing off the burgers—and boy, could Teal'c eat!—they moved inside and watched Star Wars, which Buffy had nervously rented for the occasion. It turned out to be a good choice, as Teal'c gleefully quoted along with many of the lines, making for some interesting watching.

Jack even stayed after the other two left to help with the clean-up. They washed the dishes together, with Buffy scrubbing and him drying.

"This was good," he said, in his typical understated way.

"Yeah," she said softly. She hesitated. "Jack, will you tell me about Dr. Jackson?" The name hung in the air between them, the elephant that had been in the room the whole evening.

She knew he had been Jack's best friend. She knew that Jack must still be hurting over his loss. The Colonel just shrugged, his face expressionless. "What do you want to know?"

"What was he like?"

"Besides a royal pain in my ass?" Jack shook his head. "He was smart. Idealistic. He always saw the best in people, sometimes when he shouldn't have. He was…a good guy. One of the best." His voice was soft. "He'd have liked you."

"Yeah?" Buffy handed him a dripping plate, feeling her cheeks heat.

"Yeah. You sacrificed your life to save innocent people. That would be enough for him to like you. It was enough for the rest of us."

"You know that I'm not a saint, right?" Buffy asked. "I mean, most of what I've told you, that's the good stuff. I've screwed up a lot too."

Jack shook his head. "Who hasn't? Even Carter screws up sometimes, Summers."

"It's just…I'd understand if you weren't really happy with having someone else on the team, after Dr. Jackson. I want to know where we stand."

"Listen. Buffy." Jack made her look at him. "If I didn't want you on the team, you wouldn't be on the team. Period. I don't care what the president says. You're talented, useful, fun—heck, you're smarter than I am, not that that's saying much—and you haven't pretended that you can just come in and take Daniel's place. That gets you points. We're a tight-knit team, so it might take a while before you really feel comfortable—but we're comfortable having you here."

Buffy bit her lip, touched.

Jack dropped the last glass onto the drying rack. "I don't do sentimental very often, so don't expect much more of that," he said. "But if you ever need to talk…go to Carter."

Buffy laughed, a little wetly. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem, kid."

He handed her a tissue.

"Hey, I don't suppose you want a date to the wedding, do you?"

Buffy choked. "Um, you don't mean 'date', date, do you?"

Jack smirked. "While you are very hot, Summers, I'm pretty sure it'd be illegal for me to date someone your age."

"Right." Buffy examined him. "You'd seriously waste an entire day flying to and from the west coast for a wedding between two people you don't know, just so you can show up for work a few hours late?"

Jack looked at her as if she were stupid. "Uh…yeah."

She laughed. "Yeah. You can be my date to the wedding. I'll send you my flight details."

Jack's eyes gleamed speculatively. "Or you could cancel your flight," he said. "I'll arrange a new one for us."

* * *

"Jack," Buffy said.

"Yes, Summers?"

"What's _that_?"

"Silly question. You've seen the X-302 before—I was there."

"Hammond was okay with this?" she demanded.

Jack looked shifty. "I cleared it through the appropriate channels," he said.

"Uh-huh. And you're telling me that I _have_ to wear the skin tight space suit."

"Yup."

"Hmph."

After a bit more grumbling, Buffy went off to change into the incredibly hideous suit. She came back out with her lips set in a displeased frown. Jack was already changed and standing at the top of the portable stairs looking at the cockpit.

"C'mere," he said, gesturing for her to climb up behind him.

"Really, Jack," she said from the ground, "I don't think this is such a good idea."

"Summers," he said more firmly, in his "it says 'Colonel' on my uniform" voice. "Get up here."

Frowning at his tone, she climbed the ladder and stood beside him on the narrow perch, looking in at the cockpit.

"Okay," he said. "Now, these are the controls for the inertial dampeners." He pointed at one series of lights. "These measure the cabin pressure, and these operate the radar detection."

"Jack."

"Summers."

"Not that I don't appreciate the lesson, but why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Teal'c told me about what you did on Anubis' planet, flying a glider to help destroy the stargate destroying device."

"Yeah? So?"

"His description of your flying was less than flattering—but he also pointed out that, for someone who'd never flown anything before and was only flying on instinct, you showed potential."

Buffy wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered. "So…why the flying lesson?"

"You said you want to be a valuable member of the team, right? Well, every skill helps. If you can fly a glider, you might just be in a position to help us out of a jam someday."

"I see." Well, okay, that was…pretty exciting, actually. "So, this training is…"

"Useful," Jack finished for her. "And, not exactly sanctioned. So don't mention this to anyone."

"Right."

He went through the different parts of the cockpit again, from the beginning. Then, when she asked, he did it again. And again. He did it until she could name each part when he pointed it, and then he did it again just to make sure. He was direct and serious and Buffy was somewhat surprised to realize that he was actually a very effective teacher.

"Okay!" he pronounced. "Let's take her for a spin."

"Uh, Jack," Buffy said nervously.

"Don't worry, Summers. I'll be in the seat behind you, ready to take over the controls if necessary. You're just going to drive her around the tarmac a bit. I'll handle takeoff and landing. I just want you to get a feel for it."

She wasn't exactly reassured but decided to trust Jack's judgment. The controls of the cockpit were unfamiliar to her, and yet…instinctively, she felt like she had some sense of how things worked. She set the X-302 off at a slow roll, driving it around the tarmac.

It wasn't really true that Buffy was a bad driver, despite what people who'd seen her drive tended to think. Buffy was simply a very _fast_ driver, relying on her slayer senses to avoid obstacles as she sped around corners.

She didn't have that problem with the X-302. The thing was cumbersome enough on land that she felt no desire to drive it quickly, instead taking her time and getting comfortable with it.

"Nice job, Summers," Jack's voice said through the headphones in her helmet. "Now we're going to take her up into the air. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to take the controls back. Then I'm going to walk you through each thing I'm doing, and you're going to do it on your side at the same time, as practice."

"But I won't actually do anything, right?" Buffy said uncertainly.

"Right. You'll have no control."

"Okay. Let's do it."

Jack walked her through it. He told her when to push what button, when to pull back on the pressure to a pedal, made her read the instrument panels back to him.

"You're going to love this part," he said, and she could hear the excitement in his voice. "Push the accelerator forward…now!"

She did, and the plane burst forward at incredible speed. Buffy let out a whoop as it lifted off of the ground, quickly attaining altitude. Once they were high enough in the air, she let one of her hands come down from the joystick, and was shocked when the 302 began to waver.

"What the hell," she said.

"Summers!" Jack barked. "Keep your hands on the equipment!"

"When did you transfer the control back to me?" she demanded. "I thought _you_ were going to fly us there!"

"I never took control," Jack said. "Congratulations, kid. You just took off in an X-302 for the first time."

"Jack," Buffy bit out. "I hate you."

"Hate me all you want—just keep your eye on the skies."

"Are we going to break out of Earth's atmosphere?"

He paused. "Let's save that for the trip home, shall we?"

* * *

Though she'd never admit it to Jack, that flight was one of the most enjoyable things she'd done in a long time. The 302 practically flew itself, but Jack walked her through the minor adjustments she should make as its pilot. He was going to land it himself, but when she confessed that the landing had been the roughest part of her flight in the glider, he cruelly decided to make her land the 302 as well.

"I just don't think this is a good idea," she protested as they descended towards the Sunnydale covert landing strip. It was a very small facility that had been built for the Initiative, once upon a time.

"Focus," Jack barked. "Steady. Deploy the landing gear. Keep your eye on the altimeter, and stay level."

"Right," she muttered, trying to obey.

"Summers, slow down!" Jack said. "You've got to pull back a little, or we're going to plow right into the tarmac."

"Thanks," she snapped, carefully pulling back on a lever. The plane began to slow.

"Now, nice and easy," he murmured.

The plane bumped, and it jostled, and it came to a halt in one piece.

Buffy was significantly sweatier and more exhausted than she had been when she'd fought hand to hand against Bra'tac. "Please don't tell me I have to do that again when we go back," she begged.

"Just you wait," Jack said darkly.

Jack had called ahead for a car to meet them at the landing strip and they asked to be taken straight to the venue. Buffy was surprised by how many people were there. She and Jack wandered in and were greeted by a demon disguised as a man.

"Which party are you with?" the demon inquired politely, unfazed by their ridiculous flight suits.

"Um, both I guess," Buffy said. "I'm a bridesmaid. Do you know where I can find Willow? And can you point Jack in the direction of the men's room?"

They parted ways, Jack to change into his suit and Buffy to locate Willow, who was with Tara and Anya in the bride's changing room.

"Buffy!" Willow squealed, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"Yes," Anya added. "We were beginning to think that you were not going to come to my special day, and that we would have wasted money figuring you into the refreshments."

"Thanks, Anya," Buffy said dryly. "And congratulations. Hey Tara!"

"Hi Buffy," the shy girl said, giving her a gentle hug.

Only then did Buffy stop to look at what Willow and Tara were wearing. She swallowed. "Are those…the bridesmaid dresses?" she asked, wincing.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Anya asked tearfully.

Buffy sighed. Under her breath, she muttered, "The things I do…All right, Willow, where's my dress?"

She took the unfortunate piece of clothing and made her way to the women's room.

* * *

Jack straightened his tie and smiled uncertainly at the…man?...sitting next to him at the bar.

"So, how do you know the happy couple?" the man said cheerfully, drinking something that didn't look like alcohol.

Jack sipped his beer. "I don't," he said. "I'm here with my coworker, Buffy Summers."

The man stiffened almost imperceptibly. "Oh," he said carefully. "You're here with _Buffy_."

A commotion at the other end of the bar drew both men's attention. It seemed the one of the guests was already wasted, and had begun to insult the appearances of the members of the bride's party.

"Disgusting, isn't he?" Jack's companion said. "That's the groom's father."

Jack eyed the drunk distastefully. "You'd think he'd show some more decorum at his own son's wedding."

Buffy came out into the reception area, looking like a piece of asparagus.

"Summers?" Jack said in disbelief. He noticed that his companion was inching away as she approached, before finally getting up and hurrying in the opposite direction. "Huh," Jack said, watching after him. He turned back to Buffy. "Nice fellow."

"How's it going?" Buffy asked nervously.

"Oh, you know," Jack said conversationally. "The groom's party insulted the bride's party, everyone's been heavily partaking of the alcohol, and this suit is tight in all the wrong places."

"Buffy?" They both looked up to see a teenager watching them with wide eyes. "You came!"

Buffy's smile softened. "Hey, Dawnie," she said. The teen rushed toward them, sweeping Buffy into a hug. She endured the embrace for a long moment before pushing the girl away to examine at arm's length. "Of course I came! Do you think I'd miss this?"

Dawn shifted uncomfortably. "You know Xander's still not happy with you, right? I mean, he keeps talking about you 'running away again' and 'abandoning your duty.' I've tried to explain it to him, but…"

Buffy frowned. "It's okay, Dawn. Xander's stupid sometimes. Doesn't mean I'm not going to come to his happy day." She hesitated, then, with less confidence than Jack was used to seeing from her, said, "Is Giles here?"

Dawn's expression darkened. "No," she said bitterly. "Anya even asked him to walk her down the aisle, but all he sent was a check to cover part of the cost of the wedding."

Buffy looked away. "Because of me," she muttered.

Dawn punched Buffy on the arm. "Hey," the younger woman said. "Don't blame yourself for Giles' stupidity. It's not your fault." Searching for something else to talk about, her gaze shifted to Jack. "Who's the old guy, Buffy?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Dawn, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill, my coworker. Jack, this is my sister Dawn."

Dawn's eyes were huge. "Are you dating?" she demanded. "Buffy, haven't you learned your lesson about older guys? First Angel, then Spike—"

"We're not dating!" Buffy said, embarrassed. "Seriously. We're just friends." Suddenly she smirked. "Actually, the only reason I let him come along was because he let me fly the plane."

Dawn gasped. "_You flew a plane_?" she shrieked. "Is he _crazy_?"

"Hey," Jack said, even though he knew that they sisters were mostly playful in their banter. "Summers did a great job. She's a natural."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "She's a natural driving a car, too, but that doesn't mean anyone wants to ride with her," she pointed out. She checked her watch. "Ooh, I forgot. Buffy, Xander's gone missing. I've been looking all over for him, so far with no luck. Can you stall the proceedings?"

Buffy looked at her own watch. "Dawn, the ceremony's supposed to start in five minutes."

"Yeah, I know," Dawn said. "Hence with the stalling. See—everyone's starting to go into the chapel!"

Which was how Jack found himself standing with Buffy at the head of the chapel, playing charades. He held up two fingers, then pantomimed a bald head. He kept at it until one of the not-quite-humans shouted, "Homer Simpson!"

"You're good at this," Buffy whispered.

Suddenly they heard a shrieked, "Xander's missing? What do you mean Xander's missing!"

Then a lot of stuff happened that Jack didn't really understand. An old man turned into some sort of monster and tried to attack the bride, Jack shot it with his gun, Buffy killed the monster, the groom came back but decided not to marry the bride, and the bride's party and groom's party started an all out brawl.

"Geez, Summers," Jack said once the hubbub was over. "No wonder you don't want to stick around here."

She smiled tiredly, but sadly. "This was relatively calm," she told him. "Though, I really thought Anya and Xander would work out." She sighed, shook her head. "Let's crash at my place for the night, then we can head back in the morning."

"But not too early," Jack reminded her, waggling his finger. "Hammond's not expecting us till at least 1200."

Buffy introduced Jack to Willow and Tara, both of whom were too distracted over the disastrous evening to look at him very closely. Then Buffy, Jack, Willow, and Dawn took a cab to Buffy's house. Buffy had planned to give him her room and take the couch, but Jack refused. Buffy quirked a smile at his ridiculous nobility, then announced that it was too early for her to sleep, so she was going patrolling.

"I'm going to bed," Willow said faintly. "Today sucked."

"Night, Willow," Dawn said. The girl seemed fairly traumatized, herself. She joined Jack on the living room couch. Only then did he realize that he'd been effectively railroaded into babysitting.

Jack stretched out his long legs, wondering whether he should turn on the TV or something.

"Buffy looked happy," Dawn said abruptly.

He blinked. "I'm sorry?" Buffy had definitely not looked happy when she went off to patrol. She'd looked pretty upset, actually.

"When you and she were at the bar," Dawn clarified. "Buffy…she was smiling and laughing."

"Yeah. So?"

She shrugged in the annoying way that teenagers have. "So, I haven't seen Buffy happy in a really, really long time. Not since before she died. Whatever you're doing under that mountain of yours, it's really working. It's obviously a nice vacation for her."

"A vacation," he repeated, eyes narrowing. He'd describe their work at the SGC as a lot of things, but "vacation" was not one of them.

Dawn misinterpreted his tone, maybe on purpose. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Of course. She knows that she really belongs here, in Sunnydale, where all the vampires are. We need her."

Jack made a show of looking around the living room. "You seem to be doing fine. I haven't seen demons running amok, anyway."

"When Buffy was dead, we convinced all the demons that she was still alive by having a robot that looked and talked like her fight the monsters," Dawn explained. "The Buffybot was destroyed, but Willow managed to MacGyver a robot to do basic patrolling. It's not very human-like and can't think creatively or anything but it gets the job done. This year's been pretty slow so far, too, as far as demon activity goes. No apocalypses looming or anything. It can't last forever, though. Buffy's got to come back eventually. You can't expect her to stay at your base forever."

"Dawn, your sister is doing important work in Colorado," Jack said, annoyed with himself for being uncomfortable with the girl. He was good with kids, but as soon as they hit the teenage stage he lost patience with them. "She's not on vacation."

Dawn sniffed. "Maybe not in the conventional sense," she argued, "but she's on a vacation from her _life_. You think whatever you're doing is more important than saving the world from the forces of darkness? Because I really doubt it."

"What did you mean, when you said Buffy hasn't been happy? She seems like a cheerful person. It's hard to believe." He was examining the pictures on the walls as they talked, most of them of a younger, smiling Buffy or Dawn, as well as Willow, the absent groom at the wedding, and an older woman with brownish-blonde hair.

"Well, she was a happy person for a long time," Dawn mused. "Even in high school, when a lot of things really, really sucked she managed to stay happy. Well, sort of. Last year, though…things just went downhill. When mom died, it was a huge blow. And then, with Glory…You do know about Glory, right?"

He thought for a minute, trying to remember what Buffy had said. "That would be a no. Although, I think I've heard the name mentioned in connection with a troll hammer?"

Dawn frowned. "She hasn't told you much, has she? Well, Glory was a hell god."

"You mean a demon?"

"No. A god. As in, immortal, unkillable. Also, kind of insane, and really bitchy. Anyway, Glory was, well, she was after me. She was trying to return to her dimension, which would also destroy our world. Buffy spent months being hounded by Glory, trying to fight her, all while Mom was getting sicker. Then Mom died, and Glory caught me. She opened a portal into the other dimension, a portal that could only be closed with my blood. Well, Buffy went after Glory, and beat her into submission with a troll hammer—which wasn't nearly as easy as I just made it sound—but by the time she got to me, it was too late. I had to die. I was even ready for it, I'd made my peace."

Jack tried to imagine this girl, this teenager, calmly making the decision to die to save the world. It made his chest hurt. Kids, innocents, should never be in such a position.

"And then Buffy saved me, like she always does. She pointed out that my blood was her blood, too. She told me to live, for her. And then she jumped off of the tower and into the portal and was ripped apart. Her death, it destroyed all of us. Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, Spike, Giles…I don't think we realized how much our lives were centered around Buffy. I mean, we knew that she was important to us, but we didn't really get how much she'd been the one keeping us all sane. We couldn't deal. So they decided to bring her back. To pull her from the grave. Only they forgot about the grave part, and she woke up in her coffin, six feet underground, after being torn out of Heaven. Buffy used to have nightmares about being buried alive, all the way through high school. I don't know if the others know that. She's always been terrified that she might be turned into a vampire. Anyway, when she came back, I was the one who found her. Her fingernails were broken, her hair was muddy, and she was about to commit suicide. I convinced her to stay. And because it was me asking, she did."

Dawn was crying. Jack put a tentative arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him. "I was so happy to get her back," she sobbed. "We all ignored the truth, pretended that she'd been saved from some terrible torture. And all the while, all she could think about was wanting to die again. That's why Willow and I were okay with her going away, to Colorado. We were losing her again, slowly but surely." She grasped the lapels of Jack's suit, meeting his eyes in sudden desperation. "I can't lose her again, Jack."

"I think she wants to live now, Dawn," Jack said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "It sounds like Summers has had a rough time, but she's been doing well, from what I've seen. Saved my bacon a time or two, let me tell you."

Dawn sniffled and wiped at her nose with a tissue. "Sorry," she said. "I'm not usually this clingy. It's just…with Buffy coming back, and Xander and Anya splitting up...it's hard."

"Hey," Jack said gently. "I've got a shoulder. What good is it if it doesn't get cried on occasionally?"

She laughed wetly.

"Hey," he said again, as if suddenly thinking of something. "Maybe you can help me out a bit with your sister. She's made a few comments that I just know have a good story behind them. She said something about 'Buffy and beer' being 'unmixy things,' for example. Care to explain?"

Dawn's eyes gleamed, with tears and something eviller. "You want dirt?" she said. "I've got loads of dirt. See, back when Buffy was in college, she got depressed for a while and started going to this bar with these obnoxious frat boys…"

* * *

Being back in the familiarity of Sunnydale's cemeteries was not pleasant. Buffy sighed as she weaved among a couple of tombstones, rocks whose positions she'd memorized years ago. She could walk through this whole place blindfolded, although that probably wouldn't be the best idea, considering the sheer number of vampires who passed through every night.

"Buffy."

Speak of the devil…She stiffened but didn't turn. "Spike."

"I saw you at the wedding, with some bloke who looked military. Thought you might come here, after."

"Spike, I don't want to fight with you. Not tonight."

The vampire came into view slowly, a smile on his gaunt, handsome face. "I don't want to fight either, luv," he said, touching her arms lightly. "Not when there are some much better things we could do…"

"No," she said firmly, pulling away. "Spike, anything you and I have done together was a _mistake_. I'm sorry. I should never have given in in the first place."

He drew back as if slapped. "Oh, sure," he said, sounding angry to cover his hurt. "You say now that you regret it, but at the time—"

"At the time I was confused and upset," Buffy said. Why had she come back to Sunnydale? Clearly it had been a bad idea. "I used you, Spike, because you were the only one I could talk to. I'm pulling myself together, now. Trying to figure out who I am these days. You don't figure into that. No one here in Sunnydale does. That's why I left."

"And yet, here you are," he said, crossing his arms, his face set stubbornly. "You didn't have to come back for the wedding, if being away was really doing you so much good. I think you want to be here, whether you know it or not. You belong here, Buffy."

"No I don't!" she said, loudly enough that any nearby vampires would have warning that she was there. Lowering her voice, she went on. "Right now, I don't belong anywhere, Spike. Except maybe back in Heaven. I'm _trying_ to become a person who can function again, be a part of society. And it's hard, it's so hard, because every day is a _burden_, but I'm going to keep trying because the people who love me want me to live. Including you. Don't ask any more from me, because I won't give it to you. I _can't_."

He watched her cautiously, surprised. He was used to hysterical Buffy, or seriously-in-denial Buffy. This new self-aware Buffy was a completely different animal.

"You're really finding yourself again in Colorado?" he said at last, because he couldn't deny that she was looking better than she had in a very long time.

"I really am," she said, looking away.

"And when you come back, you and I—we can talk things over?"

"Maybe I won't come back," Buffy said.

"Maybe not. But I doubt it. Whatever you may feel about us right now, the Li'l Bit is here, and the Witch, and even the damned Waste of Space. And me, of course."

Buffy smiled, just a little, just the corner of her mouth. It was the first time he'd really made her smile since she'd come back to life.

"Tell me one thing. Willow, and the magic—how's she doing?"

Spike thought seriously before answering. "I think she's doing all right," he said. "I haven't seen her do anything, and the Li'l Bit's been keeping a close eye on her."

Buffy nodded. "Good night, Spike," she said softly, heading back towards her house.

He could have followed her, wanted to, but instead he watched her go. "Night, Buffy," he said.

* * *

Buffy and Jack left the next morning at 9 a.m. Willow and Dawn were tearful in their goodbyes.

He walked her through the takeoff again, although this time it was less smooth, now that Buffy actually knew that she was flying the 302. They got up in the air all right, though, and cruised for a while at the ship's normal speed before Jack said, "What do you say we take her for a real ride?"

Buffy hesitated. "You mean…up there?" She looked upwards and knew that Jack would know what she meant.

"Let's do it," he said, and instructed her on how to punch their speed up a notch and send them rocketing up through the atmosphere. It was a real rush to fly that way, zooming straight up, through and past the clouds, up, up, until they reached the blackness of space.

"Wow," Buffy said, looking down at the planet on which she lived. "This is amazing."

"Isn't it, though?" Jack said, admiring the 302 as much as the planet.

"Jack…thanks for all this," Buffy said. "For coming with me to the wedding, and taking me flying. For everything."

"Are you happy?" Jack asked.

She knew that he wasn't speaking about her long-term state of mind. He was asking whether she was happy _right now_. She was surprised to realize that her answer was… "Yes."

She could imagine his shrug. "Then, you're welcome. Any time."

Buffy grinned. "General Hammond's gonna be pissed that you let me fly this thing, isn't he?"

"Oh, there isn't a word in the dictionary for the way he's going to go ballistic," Jack predicted.

He was right.


End file.
